WINTER STORM NOW 12/08-11/2007: KS, OK, NE, MO, IA, CO, among others

[cstrunk]

Here in Ames, IA I would guesstimate that we received about .1" of freezing rain overnight, followed by .25" of sleet, and then 2" of snow this morning. It looks like we are in the clear. I was honestly expecting more of the precipitation to continue surging farther northward with the way that the precip shield was moving last night, and that we would end up with more precip than expected. NWS must have thought so too, because they added .1" of ice (verified) and 2-4" of snow/sleet (nope) to fall overnight. We did pick up a couple of inches of snow today like expected.

None of this compares to what has happened/is happening about 50 miles south of here. Back home in Shenandoah, IA, my mom says everything is covered in about .5"-.75" of freezing rain with some sleet on top of it. They are lucky in that they still have power. She says a lot of branches are down in the yard. She was going to take some pictures, so maybe I'll get to see what I have to look forward to deer hunting in this Friday!

 

[Rick Smith]

According to the latest situation report from Oklahoma Emergency Management, more than 634,000 customers are without power statewide.

You can access these reports at http://www.ok.gov/OEM/Emergencies_&_Disasters/2007/Winter_Weather_Event_20071209_-_Master/

WFO Norman is also working on a web page devoted to the ice storm. You can see it here http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/wxevents/20071208/

Rick

 

[Jeff Smith]

Amazing...I measured 2 inches of ice on this limb in Broken Arrow, Okla. yesterday afternoon. The "war zone" saying fits pretty well!

 

[Jim Zandonai]

With temps at 32-33 we have not had the devastating icing that some areas have had yet but if rain continues and temps fall later even a couple degrees today more icing could occur. Radar shows Precip ending west to east for now.
So far about 1/4" of ice has accumulated on trees..

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I just toured around the east side of town here. It amazes me how many trees I've seen and heard fall today. Think they'd do it for my video camera, hell no. 3 in a row in different places so I'd be like fine, I'll try again. Then there would be none for a while. Trees have taken lots and lots of powerlines down with them in town. Yet I have power still(jinx).

I wonder what this place will look like after a while, which trees will be able to recover. A whole lot of tree areas are just toast...and that is before tonight's added wind and cold help them out.

Will post some more pics soon, if I keep power.

 

[Chad Cowan]

Nothing but liquid here in Chicago thus far. We have hovered above freezing since about 6am but temps are slowly creeping downward and, per RUC guidance, should break the 32 mark before the last blob of precip is over. A quick 1/4" of ice accum is not out of the question here in downtown if the precip band lines up like I think it will. The far NW burbs have been below the freezing line for most of the day and there could easily be some +.5" accums before all is said and done.

Some quick numbers on the storm:
23 deaths blamed on ice
900,000+ w/o power (CNN)
400 Flights canceled @ O'Hare
4th consecutive day Chicago has recieved FZ rain or drizzle, something that hasn't happened on record dating back to 1924 (WGN)

 

[Steve Miller]

Just had power restored in my neighborhood (5 east of Moore, OK) 2 hours ago. Temps are a couple degrees above freezing and rain is falling steadily.
Conditions have improved substantially in the past 4-5 hours as the rain and temps have combined to help thaw ice from trees and whatever else it has attached itself to. This is good as winds have increased a little and should get a little stronger throughout the rest of the afternoon.
Problem now is the rain. The ice has plugged up drainage pipes, street drainage systems, gutters and even the large output pipes on the pond behind my house.

I’m glad this is about over with. Now to clean it all up.

I have some aditional writings about all of this in my blog for anyone who cares to read along.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Here's a few more images at the bottom of this page:

http://www.extremeinstability.com/07-12-11.htm

 

[jladue]

More Norman ice storm pictures

Here are some shots I took from around the area. I found this storm quite the opposite of a normal winter storm. Normally, you have power and can't go anywhere. This one: no power but can go anywhere.

http://www.towerofstorms.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1992&g2_page=2

regards,

Jim

 

[Dick McGowan]

Couple of pics from "The Plaza" this morning in Downtown KC.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Mike's photos are amazing. The absolutely crazy thing is that I recognize those houses from having grown up in that small town and can even tell you who lives in them. It's been the strangest feeling seeing it posted in here all day. Hope everyone up there recovers ok from all this.

 

[Charles Kuster]

Those are some amazing photos out of Mound City and Norman! Here in Lincoln, we did not receive a significant amount of ice. I would estimate between about a quarter to .3" accumulated on must surfaces. Then we had very little sleet and snow (~<.5") throughout the day. We still had classes today and really dodged this major storm. I hope everyone stays safe during the storm.