December 23-26, 2022:

Dangerous winter weather conditions swept over the majority of the Central and Eastern U.S., bringing the coldest recorded Christmas in decades to major cities. By December 25, more than 55 million were under wind chill alerts. The storm was responsible for extensive vehicle pileups, and more than 10,000 delayed and canceled flights. Detroit and Grand Rapids, MI, and Buffalo, NY experienced whiteouts and periods of zero-visibility conditions, leaving approximately 500 motorists stranded in their vehicles in Erie County (CNN). As of the morning of December 26, about 250,000 homes and businesses were without power, while the storm began to gradually weaken as temperatures were forecast to warm up later in the week (NOAA/National Weather Service).

Impact:

• >60 fatalities (as of January 3, 2023) (Weather) (Reuters).
• Approximately $5.4 billion in damage to residential, commercial, and industrial structures and vehicles (Insurance Journal)

Related Resources:

• FEMA: How to Prepare for a Winter Storm
• Major Disaster Declarations for Snowstorms and Severe Winter Storms [December 11, 2020]
• Performance of the Electric Power System in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic During Recent Winter Weather Events, Including the Bomb Cyclone, Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, Second Session, January 23, 2018
• Blizzard Conditions in the U.S. Northeast

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Photo Credit: NOAA