Top 10 Weather Events of 2009...

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

It is time to reveal the Top 10 Weather Events of 2009. The 10 Weather Events of the 2000s will follow a bit later on today.

The year, 2009, like every other year, certainly had its memorable weather events on a local, national, and international scale. For purposes of this blog, we'll focus on local events. To say that 2009 was an up and down year is an understatement. It was a year that featured everything from tornadoes to snow to a record early summer heat wave. It was a year that started dry and ended wet as we transitioned into an El Nino pattern. Perhaps, one of the biggest weather stories of the year on a local and national scale was the quiet tropical season. It was a year of extremes and wild swings in weather. None of this is more evident than looking back just a couple months ago...a hurricane in the Eastern Gulf in early November, and then accumulating snow a month later along the Western Gulf coast! So, now without further adieu, here's the list I have compiled.

10) El Nino- El Nino makes the list because it influenced the weather on a large scale locally as well as nationally and internationally. As El Nino developed during the summer, we experienced the good side of El Nino as it limited tropical development, and established a favorable pattern to steer any tropical systems away from us. However, the bad side of El Nino is rearing its ugly head here in the winter months as we've been locked in a very wet pattern this fall through til the end of the year, and this will extend into 2010.

9) The 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season- Normally it's a big deal when hurricane season is active, but this year the irony is that it was a quiet season, after it was forecast to be an active season. Most of this can be contributed to the established El Nino which creates a hostile environment for tropical systems in the Atlantic Basin. The 2009 season was well below normal, and it was the least active season in over 20 years! There were really only 3 significant systems over the course of the season...Bill, Fred, and Ida! Bill and Fred were major hurricanes, but remained in the open Atlantic. Ida was historical in the fact that it was one of the latest landfalling Atlantic basin tropical systems on record. In all, there were 9 named systems and 2 tropical depressions. There were the 3 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. Here's how it compares to normal...10 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes.

8) Isolated Beaumont Tornado- August Tornadoes are rare across the area. Our usual, persistent, hot & humid pattern of the summer months is typically not conducive for tornadoes. However, on August 18, a strong tornado touched down near the mall in Beaumont. This was an isolated incident, as it a very typical mid-August afternoon across the area. The tornado basically formed when two thunderstorms merged over Beaumont, creating enough rotation in the atmosphere for tornadogenesis. The tornado was rated an EF1 had winds of 86-110 mph. The path length was 1 mile, and the tornado was about 100 yards wide. 10 people were injured by the tornado. The tornado touched down in a field behind Parkdale Mall, and moved NE across the mall and other businesses in NW Beaumont. The tornado caused significant damage to the Kohl's Department Store, significant damage to Wal-Mart Supercenter on Dowlen Road, and to Barnes & Noble Bookstore & Petco. Slight damage occurred at the mall mainly in the wings housing Dillard's and Macy's. The tornado overturned several cars in the Wal-Mart parking lot and in the East parking lot of the mall before dissipating near the Eastex Freeway (Highway 69).

7) Incredibly Wet October & December- Several of the events on this year's list are interrelated. This one is strongly attributed to the established El Nino. October 2009 was one of the top 3 wettest at all reporting sites across SW Louisiana. Lake Charles experienced its second wettest October ever with almost 15" of rain (14.96"). Beaumont nearly equaled that with 14.90". Lafayette, Alexandria, and New Iberia followed suit. 12.52" occurred at Lafayette while Alexandria reported 12.66", and New Iberia came in with the lowest total of all reporting sites in the area at 11.65". Some other locations around the area reported over 20" of rain for the month of October. Of note here is...Lake Charles established its all-time wettest month back in October 2002 with 21.45" of rain. October was incredibly wet for the entire state with record rainfall established at Shreveport and Monroe with over 20" at both locations. After a break from the extremely wet pattern in November, it returned in December. Rainfall totals will finish well above normal for the month. December rainfall totals were highest over Acadiana with 16.35" at New Iberia (Acadiana Regional Airport), 10.76" at Lafayette. Rainfall totals tempered downward for the other reporting sites, but ranged from over 6" at Beaumont to near 9" at Lake Charles. 6.37" was reported at Beaumont, while Alexandria recorded 8.46", and Lake Charles came in with 8.99". By far, the most incredible rains this December occurred just east of the forecast area ver SE Louisiana. New Orleans has received incredible rainfall totals, establishing their all-time wettest month. The city has picked up nearly 26" of rain with 25.92" the official reading at New Orleans International Airport in Kenner. These totals could go a bit higher depending on if we see any rain ahead of a cold front this evening.

6) Hurricane Ida- While Ida had virtually no direct impact on our area, I felt it was prudent to include it in this list due to its historical ramifications. Ida formed off the coast of Central America on November 4 as the 11th tropical depression of the season. The storm was in a favorable environment for development, and it rapidly strengthened becoming Tropical Storm Ida on the 4th. Ida slowly moved towards the coast of Central America, and became a hurricane on the morning of November 5th as it neared the coast of Nicaragua. The storm was moving so slow at this time, that there was much speculation to whether or not its circulation would survive over the mountainous terrain of Central America, given the time of year and the associated steering currents. Not only did Ida survive, she would grow stronger upon re-emerging over the warm waters of the Western Caribbean off the coast of Honduras. It emerged back over water on Friday, November 6. Ida would steadily re-strengthen as it was in a favorable environment. The Western Caribbean is the most climatologically favored area for tropical development during the month of November. Ida became a hurricane once again late on Saturday the 7th. It continued to strengthen and move Northward into Sunday the 8th. It entered the SE Gulf of Mexico, and became one of the latest hurricanes on record in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Warnings were issued for much of the Central Gulf Coast region as Ida barreled toward the coastline. Ida continued to move around the edge of an Atlantic high off the coast of the SE U.S., and was in a favorable environment for strengthening over the SE Gulf where waters were still at or above 80 F. Ida reached a peak intensity of 105 mph-category 2 on Sunday the 8th. Weakening was expected as Ida moved further into the Gulf and closer to the coast due to the effects of cooler water temperatures, but it was forecasted at one time to remain a hurricane until its landfall somewhere along the Central Gulf coast on Monday the 9th. Ida began to feel the influence of wind shear ahead of an approaching trough as well as the colder water over the Northern Gulf, and began weakening on 9th. Rapid weakening occurred for the rest of the day on Monday the 9th, into Tuesday the 10th when Ida made landfall. Ida's U.S. landfalls occurred along coastal Alabama near Dauphin Island, and then final landfall was near Bon Secour, AL on the morning of the 9th. Ida's official wind speed at landfall was 45 mph, but that could be generous based on reports from the area near landfall. Ida transitioned to an extratropical storm by Wednesday the 11th, and traversed the Eastern Seaboard.

5) March 25-27 Severe Weather Outbreak- Severe weather outbreaks across the forecast area generally last for a few hours, maybe up to a day at the most. However, an unusual storm track in late March led to a prolonged stretch of severe weather. Significant reports of severe weather occurred each day from Wednesday, March 25 through Friday, March 27. A series of upper level disturbances moved across the area during this 3 day span, and each one triggered showers and thunderstorms across the area. The worst of the weather was in a different location each day, but there were significant severe weather reports in our general vicinity all 3 days. Here are some highlights...Wednesday March, 25 a line of severe thunderstorms moves through Calcasieu Parish and a microburst occurred at DeQuincy. Tornado like damage occurred, and several homes and businesses in the Northern Calcasieu municipality obtained damage from winds near 70 mph. The same storm moved to the SSE through the community of Buhler in Calcasieu Parish. Damage was in a NNW to SSE line across the community. Numerous trees and power lines were downed by the strong winds up to 70 mph. Some minor damage occurred to trailers in the area. The strongest part of the storm missed the city of Lake Charles, but winds were still strong enough to knock down a few trees in South Lake Charles. Winds up to 60 mph occurred in Lake Charles. That same night, other microbursts occurred near the Hampton community in Allen Parish,  Grand Lake in Cameron Parish, Mamou in Evangeline Parish, and near Opelousas and Lawtell in St. Landry Parish. Early on the 26th, the same storm system caused more damage from the microbursts in Franklin in St. Mary Parish. The damage was more significant in these areas, as the winds were stronger, at times reaching speeds over 90 mph. Straight line winds seemed to be the mode of severe weather on Thursday, March 26. Wind damage occurred across Acadiana most significantly in the Charenton and Patterson areas. Wind speeds were estimated at 80 mph, and some reports indicated that the damage in Charenton was worse than that of Hurricane Gustav. The strongest storms of the 3 day period came on Friday, March 27 as a cold front finally moved through and flushed out the volatile atmosphere. Tornadoes occurred in Rapides to the SW of Alexandria in the community of Gardner. While, a bit closer to Lake Charles, some of the largest hail stones ever recorded in SW Louisiana occurred. A supercell thunderstorm tracked through Southern Beauregard into Central Allen Parish, and large hail caused extensive damage in its path. Hail sizes ranged from golf-ball size to grapefruit size. Baseball sized hail occurred at Ragley in Beauregard Parish. The storm reached peak intensity in Western Allen Parish near the Reeves community where grapefruit sized hail occurred. This hail broken car windshields in the area. The storm continued to produce large hail into Allen Parish with golf ball sized hail near Oberlin.

4) October Flooding & Severe Weather- A series of El Nino storm systems moved across the forecast area in October, not only causing a very wet month as stated in #7, but also severe weather across parts of the area, and significant flooding impacted the Lake Charles area. First, the severe weather occurred with an October tornado outbreak on the 22nd. A strong cold front, Gulf low, and remnant tropical from what was once Pacific Hurricane Rick moved across the area. The remnant low moved right through the forecast area, and created enough wind shear for some tornadoes across the area. 6 tornadoes were reported on that Thursday afternoon as the remnant low moved NE through the area. The tornadoes were along a SW-NE line from near Grand Chenier to near Oakdale. The strongest tornado occurred between Jennings and Elton. A tornado flipped over a tractor trailer on I-10 at Jennings, and the damage done by the tornado in the town of Elton supposedly passed that of Hurricane Rita. Rainfall of 2-4" occurred across the area, but it wasn't until the next system on Monday, October 26 that the flooding problems arose. A slow moving low pressure system traversed the area on the 26th, and rain overspread the area during the day. Rainfall was very heavy for hours at Lake Charles. A new daily rainfall record was established for the date. Officially 5.3" of rain fell at the airport (the official reporting site for LCH). Some areas received over 6" of rain in just a few hours time. The entire Lake area saw over 5" of rain that afternoon, with 2.00" in a half hour period. Significant flooding occurred in SE Lake Charles with several homes flooded, and flooded roadways lasting for a couple days. Several vehicles were stranded on area roadways due to the flooding. The heaviest rain with this event was right over Lake Charles.

3) Early Summer Heat Wave & Drought- Before El Nino set in, it was miserably hot & dry early this summer. A wet May transitioned to a very hot & dry June as a large dome of high pressure residing over the Gulf coast. Much of June saw temperatures above 95 degrees, and for several days during the last 10 days of June temperatures eclipsed the century mark. Record highs for the month were established at some locations for 4 days straight, and every reporting site recorded at least one record high during the period from June 20-30. To add insult to injury, it didn't rain for most of the month. Most of the rainfall for the month of June came at the end of the month, when a upper level impulse was able to bust the cap over the area, and some strong thunderstorms occurred. No rain fell for the first 23 days of the month. The rain-free stretch carried over from the end of May, marking a solid month with no measurable rainfall at Lake Charles. Lake Charles reached a maximum temperature for the month and for the year on June 24 and 25 when the mercury topped out at 102 each day.

2) Christmas Eve Tornado Outbreak- Most people think of cold and snow when they think of what kind of weather one might expect for Christmas. Of course, here in South Louisiana, snow is a precious commodity. However, most of our Christmases are generally tranquil. While Christmas Day in 2009, was clear & cold, Christmas Eve was anything but quiet at least starting out. A very strong El Nino enhanced storm system moved through the area in the morning hours. All the parameters were in place for a significant severe weather event, including tornadoes. This is exactly what transpired. Strong tornadoes occurred in the Shreveport NWS forecast area, most notable near Lufkin, TX where an EF3 did extensive damage. In our area, no tornadoes were reported in SE Texas or immediate SW Louisiana, however, this was not the case in Acadiana. 8 tornadoes occurred during the morning hours on Christmas Eve between 7a.m. and 9a.m. The tornadoes ranged from EF0 to EF2. The strongest tornadoes occurred in Vermilion Parish near Gueydan, where much of the town sustained damage. Acadia Parish saw extensive damage in the communities of Morse and Atwood Acres. Significant damage was also sustained in Whiteville near the St. Landry and Avoyelles Parish line. Other tornado also occurred at Evergreen in Avoyelles Parish, Judd in Acadia Parish, Iota, and Richard near the Acadia/St. Landry Parish line. Several reports of straight line winds occurred as well. One fatality resulted from this storm system when a tree fell on a home in Scott, killing a 44 year old man. This was from straight line winds over 70 mph as the squall line associated with the cold front moved through the area.

Now, time for the biggest weather story of 2009...

1) Earliest Accumulating Snowfall on Record - Who would have thought that we would eclipse a record that was set just a year ago for snowfall. Of all things, snowfall in South Louisiana! However, that is exactly what happened on December 4. Another in a series of El Nino storm systems affected the area on Friday the 4th. Modest cold air was already in place as the onset of the precip began that morning. All the precipitation across the area began as rain. However, further to our West around Houston the precip started as snow, and remained snow throughout the day. A surge of colder air was working its way into the area at this time. A Gulf low formed as well, and this kept rainfall over the area throughout the day. Temperatures gradually fell throughout the day, and by the afternoon hours rain began changing to snow across the forecast area. First, rain mixed with and eventually changed to snow for areas north of I-10 by mid-afternoon Friday. A brief rain/snow mix occurred in Lake Charles around noon. Finally, on Friday evening a transition to all snow occurred across nearly the entire area as the colder Arctic air worked into the region. Accumulating snows occurred across much of the area, as the snow fell hard enough to allow for accumulations even though temperatures were just above freezing for most of the event. A rain/snow mix even occurred at the coast. Accumulations ranged from less than inch to near 3". Accumulations of .2-1" occurred in the Lake Charles area with higher amounts North and East of town. The heaviest total was 3" near Eunice. Where the snow was heaviest, most of it remained on the ground until mid-morning Saturday, the 5th as very cold temperatures followed the snow with a hard freeze the morning of the 5th with area wide temperatures in the 20s. The official total snowfall accumulation at Lake Charles was .2", and this will go down as the earliest accumulating snowfall on record. This broke the previous record of .4" established on December 11, 2008. This tied for the 2nd heaviest snowfall on record during the month of December at Lake Charles, and only the 3rd such occurrence of measurable snow in the month. I should also note, that this was the first time in 60 years, and only the 2nd time in recorded history that snow fell on back to back years in Lake Charles. January of 1948 and 1949 was the last time this occurred.

In closing, it was another interesting year of weather across the area. We saw some of the worst of Mother Nature as well as some of the best of Mother Nature. The weather is never ending, and while it has its dull moments, as meteorologists, we live for the active moments such as the ones described above. No one knows what the year 2010 will hold as far as weather goes, but I'm sure when it's all said and done next December we'll be able to compile another list of memorable weather events for the year. Happy New Year, and always check back right here on the blog to see when the next memorable weather event may occur. Check back later for the Top 10 Weather Events of the Decade.


Happy New Year and God bless!
-DM-