MikJournal Monday 01/27/2020

Good morning to your last Monday of January 2020. Wow! Can you believe it? It's almost February!

If any of you have noticed, especially if you have read the MikJournal before, I love weather history. Today, let's hop in the Way Back machine, shall we Sherman, and travel to January 27, 1998 in the Appalachian mountains.

A heavy, wet snow event collapsed structures, stranded motorists, and caused power outages with as much as 2 to 4 FEET of accumulation in the higher elevations and a general 5 - 10" in the valley areas. Specific states included Tennessee, North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

According to the NCDC's Storm Data publication, in Harlan, Letcher, and Pike counties, "Heavy wet snow occured in the mountains near the Virginia border. Snowfall accumulations were elevation dependent, with locations below 1000 feet receiving less than 1 inch, while locations above 2500 feet received 8 to 22 inches.  Some specific amounts included 3 inches at Whitesburg, 4 inches at Jenkins, Phelps, Cumberland, and Dorton,  5 inches at Partridge, and 6 inches at Ash Camp. Up to 14 inches of snow accumulated in areas just outside of Jenkins, and 22 inches accumulated on Black Mountain where Kentucky Route 160 crosses into Virginia. The heavy wet snow brought down numerous trees and power lines. More than 100 vehicles were stranded for about 4 hours on KY 160 where the road crosses Pine Mountain between Gordon and Sand Hill.  Conditions were even worse on Black Mountain, where approximately 15  motorists were stranded for over 14 hours."

In West Virginia, a state record for most snowfall in a 24-hour period was established at Flat Top with 35". In and around Beckley, emergency officials concurred that this storm exceeded the Blizzard of March 1993.

Reports of snow flakes the size of "flap jacks and frisbees" or the size of "your fist" were common in McDowell and Fayette counties.

The situation could have been much worse for affected residents. There were 2 deaths directly attributable to the storm, but "one unique problem was the many retired coal miner [sic] that use oxygen generators.  The extended electrical outage presented health concerns."

Interestingly, in Charleston, only rain fell. At Huntington, not a flake or drop of rain was reported

Again, thanks to NCDC Storm Publication for these historic compilations of this snow storm.

Still hoping for a decent snow before winter gives up. But, time is now beginning to run short. We are exiting the coldest part of winter according to a few locations as their average temperatures will be rising from this point forward.

Make it a great week, and thanks for stopping by.

MS