East Coast Blizzard of 1996

January 1996 Blizzard

A Brooklyn resident begins the task of digging out a path along the sidewalk January 9, 1996 in New York. Credit: JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images

January's reputation for extreme winter storms is well deserved given the month is right in the heart of winter. Although there are many crippling storms to highlight throughout history in the month, we've picked five from different regions of the country that had major snow or ice impacts. We begin with the blizzard of 1996.

The blizzard of January 6-8, 1996 had all the ingredients you would look for in a major winter storm. Impacts ranged from strong winds to very heavy snow, dangerous wind chills, coastal flooding and blowing/drifting snow. The extensive swath of snow, which cumulated into some of the heaviest amounts in the late-20th century, paralyzed cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Mass. for days. Strong winds helped to create drifts of five to eight feet deep.

Overall, a foot or more of snow fell from Kentucky and southern Ohio eastward to western North Carolina and northward into central New England. Two or more feet of snow buried locations from southwestern Virginia through the highly populated metropolitan centers between Washington D.C. and New York City.

Many businesses and governments were shut down for days.Travel was snarled and most airports from Virginia northward were closed.The combination of heavy snow, strong winds and freezing rain downed many power lines. Some flat roofs collapsed or buckled after additional snow fell in the days following the storm.The blizzard caused $500 million in insured losses. Adding in non-insured losses sends the total to near $1 billion.A total of 60 fatalities are related to the storm. The majority were heart attack victims shoveling snow.

Sources: CPC/NOAA, National Weather Service Pittsburgh, NWS Service Assessment (Dec. 1996)

January 26-28, 2009 Ice Storm

January 2009 Ice Storm

Marion, Ky. Image credit: iWitness Weather contributor ampatton

A devastating, crippling ice storm brought one to locally more than two inches of ice accumulations from northern Arkansas to portions of Kentucky in late January of 2009. For perspective, accumulations of more than a half inch of ice are considered crippling.

(MORE: Typical ice storm impacts)

The heavy ice coatings caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and power poles. Trees fell on homes, cars and blocked roads.

The storm was so damaging that the National Weather Service in both Paducah, Ky. and Louisville, Ky. rated it as the worst weather event of the decade for their respective areas.

Kentucky's governor, Steve Beshear, described it as the biggest natural disaster the state has experienced in modern history. Governor Beshear called in National Guard troops to help clear roads and to go door to door to check on families in the western part of the state (the worst-hit area).

In Arkansas, Mel Coleman, CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, described the scene:

"In all of my years I have never seen anything that compares to the damage this storm has caused. I have yet to see a mature tree standing that was not severely damaged. Just opening the door to the outside sounds like a war zone, with the continuous sounds of trees and limbs breaking."

At its height, a total of 1.3 million residents were left without power in multiple states.For Kentucky, it was the largest power outage in history with 609,000 homes and businesses in the dark. Over 200,000 lost power in Louisville and it took as long as 10 days to get all customers back online. Area schools were out for up to a week.Necessities such as food and water were difficult to obtain and lines for gas were hours long.At least 30,000 power poles were downed or snapped in Arkansas.More than 145 miles of high-voltage transmission lines were downed in southeast Missouri.Clean up of debris from the storm lasted into the summer!

Sources: NCDC, National Weather Service Louisville, Paducah, Little Rock

January 25-27 1978 "Cleveland Superbomb"

House nearly buried by a snow drift in Wood County, Ohio. Image from the National Weather Service in Cleveland, Ohio courtesy Stephen Chang.

The "Cleveland Superbomb" blasted portions of the Midwest with severe blizzard conditions, particularly in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The term "Superbomb" refers to the extremely low pressure (958 millibars) this storm had as it passed near Cleveland, Ohio. A pressure this low is more typically seen in a hurricane.

(MORE: Mike Bettes Remembers the Storm | Stu Ostro's Blog)

Highways were clogged with stranded motorists, and doctors and emergency personnel were forced to use skis and snowmobiles. The Indiana governor sent tanks onto I-65 to remove stranded trucks. In Ohio, the National Guard was called in to assist with the worst travel disruption ever seen in the state.

Snow totals of 1 to 3 feet were common throughout the region.Wind gusts approached an amazing 100 mph in Ohio, which caused drifts to pile as high as 25 feet.The enormous drifts buried cars and even houses, making railways and roadways impassable.In Ohio, I-75 was shutdown for three days and a portion of I-475 near Toledo was closed for six days. The entire Ohio turnpike was closed for the first time in history. National Guard helicopters flew 2,700 missions across the state to rescue stranded motorists.Widespread wind damage was reported across Ohio. Thousands of trees and miles of utility lines were blown down.Around 100,000 vehicles were abandoned in Michigan alone, mostly in the southeastern part of the state.In Indianapolis, Ind., visibilities remained below 1/4 mile for 25 hours!The combination of strong winds and a bitter cold air mass sent wind chills to near -50 degrees. Persistent cold temperatures and strong winds post-snowfall hampered recovery operations.Around 70 deaths are related to the blizzard.

Sources: National Weather Service Cleveland, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit offices

Devastating 1998 Ice Storm

Trees damaged from the 1998 ice storm. Image credit: iWitness Weather contributor Anthony Frates.

This extremely damaging ice storm hit portions of Upstate New York, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, much of Maine and southeast Canada. Impacts were so severe that it made an exclusive list as one of 144 weather disasters compiled by NOAA that have exceeded a billion dollars in damage or costs from 1980-2012.

Rapid ice accumulations from January 7-9, 1998 downed millions of trees and caused widespread destruction of power lines and power poles.Ice accumulations were as much as three inches thick in northern New York, northern New England and southeastern Canada.Included in the millions of damaged trees were many maple and apple trees, which affected the maple sugaring and apple industries for years.Total damages were $1.4 billion in the U.S. plus another $3 billion in Canada. This was the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.More than 500,000 customers in northern New England lost power. Nearly 80% of Maine's population lost electrical service.The extensive power outages lasted for days, and in some cases weeks.16 lives were lost in the U.S. and an additional 28 deaths related to the ice storm were reported in Canada.Outside of the crippling ice, this storm system also brought flooding to portions of the South, lower-Mississippi Valley and Upstate New York. The most severe flooding was in western N.C. and eastern Tenn., where over 700 homes were damaged or destroyed. Total costs were $15 million in North Carolina and $20 million in Tennessee.

Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service Burlington, Vermont office

1967 Blizzard Buries Chicago

Buried cars at Lakeshore Drive and Foster Avenue in Chicago. Image credit: National Weather Service in Chicago, Ill.

Although the blizzards of 2011, 1999 and 1979 rank right up there, this crippling blizzard remains the heaviest snowstorm in Chicago's history. Surrounding portions of the Midwest, from Missouri and Kansas to southeastern Iowa, northern Indiana and lower Michigan were also hard hit.

(MORE: 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard)

Snow began in Chicago on the morning of the 26th and quickly piled up to eight inches by noon. Those trying to commute in the afternoon encountered a nightmare in which some did not make it home, while others stayed at work or in hotels.

By January 27th, Chicago was shut down with 20,000 cars and 1,100 buses stranded. Helicopters were used to provide supplies to hospitals and stranded motorists. Snow removal equipment was brought in from neighboring states, however the thousands of stranded cars hampered the removal efforts.

A storm total of 23 inches buried the Windy City. Kalamazoo, Mich. and Gary, Ind. were buried under 28 inches and 23 inches, respectively.Wind gusts of 50 mph resulted in widespread 4 to 6 foot drifts in the Chicago area. There were reports of drifts as high as 15 feet in portions of the Midwest.The storm caused $150 million dollars in business losses in the Chicago area (about $904 million in 2006 dollars).A total of 76 deaths are related to the blizzard, most of them reported in the Chicago area.O'Hare Field, now O'Hare International Airport, was closed for an unprecedented three days.Just two days prior to the blizzard, temperatures hit the mid 60s in Chicago, which helped to fuel severe thunderstorms that caused wind damage and spawned reported funnel clouds.

Sources: National Weather Service Chicago and Milwaukee offices