Blizzard — Tucker, West Virginia

2012-10-29 to 2012-10-31 · Tucker, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

The remnants of Sandy brought a variety of weather impacts to western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland as the storm made landfall and interacted with a cold front essentially right over the region. Heavy rain and strong winds combined to cause downed trees and power-lines in the lower elevations. Meanwhile, the higher elevations experienced blizzard conditions, with snow amounts in excess of 2 1/2 feet reported at elevations above 2500 feet.

Rain began on the 26th as the cold front slowly crossed the region and then stalled over the Appalachians. This cold front then interacted with Sandy as the storm made landfall on the 29th. In general, rainfall from the front and remnants of Sandy averaged 2 inches across much of eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Amounts in excess of 4 inches were reported in and and around Pittsburgh and parts of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. However, due to dry antecedent conditions, only minor flooding was reported across the region.

The saturated ground did play in an important role later however, as the pressure gradient between the front and Sandy remnants strengthened. There were several reports of trees down and power outages across the lower elevations.

Cold air, wrapping around the system as it moved inland helped to change the higher elevations to snow early on the 29th. Snow accumulated rapidly, up to two inches per hour for much of the overnight hours on the 29-30th. Very low visibilities resulting in and indirect fatality in Tucker county. Snow amounts in excess of 2 1/2 feet were reported in Tucker and Preston counties in West Virginia and Garrett county, Maryland. Amounts of 8-12 inches were reported in the ridges of Fayette and Westmoreland county in Pennsylvania and even in portions of eastern Monongalia county in West Virginia. The heavy snow combined with the wind to down numerous trees and power-lines making those areas nearly impassable. The roof of a gas station in Terra Alta also gave way due to the weight of the snow. Almost 95% of residents in Preston, Tucker, and Garrett county were without power during the peak of the snow-storm, which outages lasting over a week in many locations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 417767. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.