EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
TEXAS Declares State of Disaster
Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee Declare States of Emergency ahead of Ice Storm
Minnesota Declares Snow Emergency in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Other cities that have also proclaimed emergencies, include Crystal, West St. Paul, Plymouth, St. Paul, Robbinsdale, Mendota Heights, Bloomington, Minneapolis and St. Louis Park.
Arctic airmass engulfing the West and Central U.S. with temperatures as much as 30ºC below normal
A major ice storm is expected through Friday Central Texas to the Ohio Valley. The storm system will also bring heavy snowfall expected from Oklahoma to Lower Great Lakes, and possibly heavy rain from the central Appalachians to the lower Mississippi Valley. Prolonged power outages could occur across the region. —NWS
Hundreds of schools and thousands of businesses have closed as heavy snow and ice blanketed roads and power lines across a wide swath of the United States.
Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas are forecast to be the hardest hit by the major storm system, said the National Weather Service (NWS).
The snowstorm has contributed to hundreds of traffic accidents around the state, including at least five fatal crashes between Monday and Wednesday, AP reported.
Near Real-Time U.S. Composite Satellite Image. Recorded at 03:30UTC on December 6, 2013. (Source: SSEC/Wisc-Uni)
Highlights of Latest NWS Forecast
- Major ice storm expected from the Central Texas to the Ohio Valley.
- Heavy snowfall expected from Oklahoma to Lower Great Lakes.
- A classic ice storm pattern is taking shape from the Southern Plains tothe Ohio Valley.
- prolonged period of freezing rain and sleet from central Texas to the Ohio valley.
- Arctic airmass overspreading the West and Central U.S. with temperatures as much as 30 degrees Celsius [54ºF] below normal.
- Snowfall will be possible even within coastal Washington and Oregon
- The latest Arctic invasion follows a massive storm that dumped up to 22 inches (56cm) of snow in portions of Minnesota earlier this week.
- Up to 8 inches of snow is forecast for Missouri Thursday night through Friday.
- Albany, New York, St. Louis and Pittsburgh could also receive up to 6 inches of snow, forecasters said.
- Arctic blast that threatens up to 50 million people in the South and the Midwest with snow, ice and super-chilled temperatures, plummeting by as much as 30 degrees Celsius [54ºF.]
In wake of the cold front pushing through the eastern U.S., a very cold airmass will overspread the central and western U.S. Temperatures will be 10 to 30 degrees below normal for the next few days. High temperatures will remain below zero for some parts of the northern Plains. A reinforcing shot of cold air will arrive in the Pacific Northwest toward the end of the period. Snowfall will be possible even within coastal Washington and Oregon. —NWS
U.S. Weather Hazards Map (Hazmap) for Friday, December 6, 2013. Source and Update: NWS/CRH. Hazmap enhanced by FIRE-EARTH Blog.
Text of Disaster Declaration in Texas
I, RICK PERRY, Governor of the State of Texas, do hereby certify that a significant winter storm poses a threat of imminent disaster in the following counties: Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Bell, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Bowie, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Castro, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crockett, Crosby, Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Franklin, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Grayson, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hamilton, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Henderson, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Howard, Hunt, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kaufman, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Limestone, Lipscomb, Llano, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Navarro, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Parmer, Potter, Rains, Randall, Reagan, Red River, Roberts, Rockwall, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Sherman, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terry, Throckmorton, Titus, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Van Zandt, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Winkler, Wise, Wood, Yoakum, and Young.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the authority vested in me by Section 418.014 of the Texas Government Code, I do hereby declare a state of disaster in the counties listed above based on the existence of such threat, and direct that all necessary measures, both public and private as authorized under Section 418.017 of the code, be implemented to meet that threat.
As provided in Section 418.016, all rules and regulations that may inhibit or prevent prompt response to this threat are suspended for the duration of the incident.
In accordance with the statutory requirements, copies of this proclamation shall be filed with the applicable authorities.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and have officially caused the Seal of State to be affixed at my office in the City of Austin, Texas, this the 5th day of December, 2013.
RICK PERRY
Governor of Texas
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