NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
JANUARY 2020
1-4: Some additional snow blanketed the north-central U.S., but most of the remainder of the nation’s mid-section experienced mild, dry weather. In contrast, significant precipitation fell along and east of a line from coastal Texas to Wisconsin.
Rain was heavy enough in the lower Mississippi Valley and environs to spark lowland flooding.
overall wet year of 2019 ended, heavy snow blanketed the northern Plains and far upper Midwest, while rain drenched parts of the South, East, and lower Midwest. In South Dakota, a multi-day (December 28-30) snow event dumped 15.0 inches in Mitchell, 10.
1 inches in Aberdeen, and 10.0 inches in Watertown. Elsewhere, 3-day snowfall reached 12.3 inches in Fargo, ND, and 8.8 inches in International Falls, MN. Most of Mitchell’s snow, 12.2 inches, fell on December 29. Other daily-record snowfall totals
for the 29th included 9.4 inches in Grand Forks, ND, and 7.8 inches in International Falls. Elsewhere on December 29, Duluth, MN, clocked a wind gust to 63 mph amid a 3-day snowfall of 7.1 inches. Midwestern snow lingered into December 30, when daily-
record amounts totaled 9.8 inches in Marquette, MI, and 8.2 inches in Eau Claire, WI. Farther south, record-setting rainfall totals for the 29th reached 2.53 inches in Nashville, TN; 2.39 inches in London, KY; and 1.73 inches in Evansville, IN. In
Michigan, Muskegon’s 2.42-inch total (6.1 inches of snow) from December 29-31 capped its wettest year on record. Muskegon’s annual total of 47.97 inches was 143 percent of normal, surpassing its 2008 standard of 45.98 inches. Annual precipitation
records were established in many other Midwestern locations, including Rochester, MN (55.16 inches; previously, 43.94 inches in 1990); Grand Rapids, MI (51.37 inches; previously, 48.80 inches in 2008); Green Bay, WI (48.63 inches; previously, 39.21
inches in 2018); and Sioux Falls, SD (39.54 inches; previously, 39.17 inches in 2018). At year’s end, heavy precipitation began to overspread the Pacific Northwest, where Quillayute, WA, netted a daily-record sum of 3.89 inches on December 31.
Quillayute received an additional 3.10 inches of rain during the first 4 days of 2020. By January 2, another heavy-rain event unfolded across the South, where daily-record amounts totaled 4.15 inches in Jackson, MS, and 3.42 inches in Huntsville, AL.
The Big Black River near Bentonia, MS, crested on January 5, approximately 5.72 feet above flood stage but 1.75 feet below the highest level observed last year, on April 16. Columbia, SC, after completing its wettest December on record (9.31 inches,
tying 2009), netted a daily-record rainfall of 1.46 inches on January 3. Meanwhile, some additional snow blanketed the north-central U.S.; Watertown, SD, measured a daily-record total of 3.5 inches on January 3.
5-11: During the second half of the week, a winter storm produced a variety of weather hazards—including heavy precipitation (rain and snow), large-scale flooding, and severe thunderstorms—from eastern sections of the central and southern Plains to
the Appalachians. Flash flooding and river flooding developed from the mid-South into the lower Great Lakes region, as heavy rain fell on already saturated soils. In fact, minor to moderate flooding unfolded across the middle Mississippi and lower Ohio
Valleys. From January 10-12, thunderstorms sweeping across the southeastern Plains and the Southeast produced widespread wind damage and spawned isolated tornadoes. Meanwhile, late-week snow blanketed areas from the southeastern Plains into the Great
Lakes region, as colder air supplanted record-setting warmth.
For much of the week, rather tranquil weather prevailed. Some heavy precipitation fell, however, in western Washington, where daily record totals for January 6 included 3.01 inches in Olympia and 2.57 inches in Hoquiam. Weekly totals in those locations
reached 5.75 and 5.40 inches, respectively. Precipitation returned to the Northwest on January 10, when Spokane, WA, received a daily record snowfall of 7.0 inches. Meanwhile, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms erupted across the southeastern Plains
and swept eastward. Record-setting rainfall amounts for January 10 included 3.82 inches in McAlester, OK; 3.63 inches in Springfield, MO; and 3.27 inches in Fayetteville, AR. In Missouri, January 9-11 precipitation totaled more than 4 inches—ending
as accumulating snow—in locations such as Springfield (4.11 inches, with 1.1 inches of snow) and St. Louis (4.33 inches, with 2.5 inches of snow). The Southern deluge continued through January 11, when daily-record amounts topped the 3-inch mark in
locations such as Stuttgart, AR (3.41 inches); Paducah, KY (3.09 inches); and Greenwood, MS (3.06 inches). From January 10-12, there were more than 700 reports of wind damage and nearly five dozen tornadoes across the South, according to preliminary
reports from the National Weather Service. Among the most significant tornadoes was an EF-2 twister (estimated winds in excess of 130 mph), which struck Pickens County, AL, on the morning of January 11. That tornado, which cut a 6.3-mile swath and had
a maximum width of more than 1,000 yards, resulted in three fatalities. Elsewhere on the 11th, heavy rain also expanded into the lower Great Lakes region, where daily-record amounts totaled 2.42 inches in South Bend, IN, and 2.38 inches in Lansing, MI.
Elsewhere in Michigan, totals on the 11th of 2.42 inches in Flint and 2.06 inches in Detroit represented the highest January daily amounts on record. Previous records had been 1.34 inches (on January 18, 1949) in Flint and 1.76 inches (on January 12,
1908) in Detroit.

12-18: Following a quiet start to the week, a storm system delivered another round of heavy rain across the South and lower Midwest. The rain added runoff to already swollen rivers from the lower Mississippi into the eastern Corn Belt. Farther north,
the late-week storm produced wind-driven snow, leading to blizzard conditions in parts of the upper Midwest. Some of the harshest conditions affected western Minnesota, northwestern Iowa, and the eastern Dakotas, where snowfall in excess of 6 inches and
wind gusts to 60 mph stressed livestock and curtailed rural travel.
As the week began, a winter storm affected northern Maine. On January 12, Caribou, ME, noted daily-record totals (12.8 and 1.04 inches, respectively) for snow and precipitation. Rain lingered, however, for a few days in the Southeast, where record-
setting rainfall totals for January 13 included 1.52 inches in Athens, GA, and 1.10 inches in Anniston, AL. In the central Gulf Coast States, rainfall intensified on January 14, when daily-record amounts reached 4.51 inches in Jackson, MS, and 3.87
inches in Monroe, LA. On January 15, the Noxubee River at Macon, MS, rose 8.12 feet above flood stage—the second-highest crest on record in that location behind 12.97 feet above flood stage on April 13, 1979. Elsewhere on the 15th, the Yockanookany
River near Ofahoma, MS, climbed 5.34 feet above flood stage, rising to its highest level since May 22, 1983. Later, the Big Black River near Bovina, MS, crested on the night of January 18-19 at 10.88 feet above flood stage—just 1.89 feet below the May
1983 high-water mark. Early on the 19th, the Pearl River at Jackson, MS, crested 6.34 feet above flood state—the highest level in that location since April 8, 2003. Minor to moderate flooding also occurred along several Midwestern river basins,
including parts of the Illinois and Wabash Rivers. An ice jam on the Fox River, an Illinois River tributary, pushed the water level in Dayton, IL, to 6.15 feet above flood stage on January 21—the highest crest in that location since April 2013.
Meanwhile, Lewiston, ID, received 9.3 inches of snow from January 13-16, aided by a daily-record sum of 4.8 inches on the 13th. By January 16, precipitation developed across the southern Plains and quickly spread northeastward. January 16-17 rainfall
totaled 2.40 inches in Wichita Falls, TX, and 1.90 inches in Oklahoma City, OK. Heavy snow developed on January 17 across the upper Midwest, where daily-record totals included 7.6 inches in Brainerd, MN, and 6.6 inches in Sioux Falls, SD. High winds
developed on January 17 across the northern Plains, where gusts were clocked to 67 mph in Rapid City, SD, and 60 mph in Fargo ND, and Imperial, NE. Fargo also received 4.1 inches of snow on January 17-18. Other 2-day snowfall totals included 7.1 inches
in Sioux Falls, SD; 6.3 inches in Huron, SD; 5.2 inches in Sioux City, IA; and 1.8 inches in Lincoln, NE; peak gusts on the 18th reached 55 to 60 mph in each of those locations. As the week ended, rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow spread eastward
across the Midwest and Northeast. Record-setting precipitation totals for January 18 included 1.13 inches in Columbus, OH, and 0.73 inch in Parkersburg, WV, while daily-record snow amounts in Michigan reached 11.6 inches in Marquette, 7.1 inches in
Flint, and 6.8 inches in Detroit and Lansing.

19-25: Pacific storms continued to deliver precipitation across the Northwest, but mostly dry weather prevailed from southern California to the High Plains. Farther east, the week began and ended with storms in progress. A slow-moving storm system
produced generally light to moderately heavy amounts of precipitation from the central and southern Plains to the East Coast. The northern edge of the precipitation shield, stretching from the central Plains into the Midwest, included some snow.
Mild weather prevailed in the West and replaced previously cold conditions across the Midwest. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 10°F above normal in the upper Great Lakes region and in scattered areas from the northern Great Basin to Montana.
River flooding, which has been occurring in parts of the Midwest and the lower Mississippi Valley, began to subside in most areas. However, minor to moderate flooding persisted in several basins, including the James, Illinois, and Wabash Rivers. Parts
of the lower Mississippi River continued to rise, while significant flooding continued along the Pearl River in Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. The Pearl River near Bogalusa, MS, crested 3.55 feet above flood stage on January 23—the highest level
in that location since March 13, 2016. In Natchez, MS, the Mississippi River rose approximately 5 feet above flood stage (and continued to rise) by week’s end, less than 5 feet below last year’s highest crest (9.91 feet above flood stage on March 12)
. The Mississippi River at Natchez set a record in 2019 with 212 days above flood stage (previously, 77 days in 1927). Farther north, an ice jam on the Fox River—an Illinois River tributary—resulted in the river cresting 6.15 feet above flood stage
at Dayton, IL, on January 21. This marked the highest crest in Dayton since April 2013.
Precipitation developed across the central Plains on January 21, when Hastings, NE, netted a daily-record precipitation total—mostly rain and freezing rain—of 0.32 inch. From January 21-23, Hastings received precipitation totaling 0.66 inch and 1.8
inches of snow. Farther south, beneficial rain developed in the drought-affected western Gulf Coast region, where Victoria, TX, netted a daily record total of 1.51 inches on January 22. As precipitation changed to mostly snow across the central Plains
and Midwest, daily-record amounts included 4.2 inches (on January 23) in Omaha, NE, and 3.0 inches (on January 24) in Rockford, IL. Late in the week, heavy rain showers swept across parts of the South and East. In Virginia, record-setting totals for
January 24 included 1.54 inches in Roanoke and 1.31 inches in Lynchburg. On January 25, record-setting rainfall amounts reached 2.54 inches in Wilmington, DE, and 1.25 inches in Scranton, PA. For Wilmington, it was the third-wettest January day on
record, behind 2.60-inch totals on January 3, 1936, and January 22, 1902. Meanwhile, periods of heavy precipitation occurred in the Pacific Northwest. Through January 25, month-to-date precipitation in Hoquiam, WA, climbed to 14.42 inches (168 percent
of normal), aided by a daily-record total of 2.56 inches on the 22nd. Elsewhere in western Washington, Quillayute’s January 1-25 rainfall totaled 21.48 inches (179 percent of normal).

26-31: Despite a Midwestern drying trend in late January, the Mississippi River at La Crosse, WI, set a record for having its highest daily average January level. Using observations from 7 am CST, the average daily January river stage of 8.20 feet
smashed the 2017 record of 7.34 feet. The average daily value during January in that location is 5.14 feet, with records going back to 1938. In addition, the 7 am stage on January 27 was 8.73 feet, breaking the monthly record of 8.33 feet set on
January 28, 2017. Farther south, the week opened with heavy showers dotting the western Gulf Coast region. On the 26th, Galveston, TX, experienced its fifth-wettest January day with a total of 3.34 inches. Two days later, snow developed across
portions of the central and southern High Plains, where amounts for January 28 included 5.4 inches in Dodge City, KS, and 3.0 inches in Dalhart, TX. Late in the week, heavy showers swept across the southern Atlantic region, where record-setting rainfall
totals for January 31 included 1.52 inches in Naples, FL, and 1.24 inches in Florence, SC. Throughout the week, periods of heavy precipitation affected the Northwest. Quillayute, WA, completed its wettest month on record (30.78 inches, or 211 percent
of normal), aided by a daily-record sum of 4.01 inches on January 31. The previous wettest January in Quillayute had occurred in 2006, when 24.02 inches fell, while the wettest month had been November 1983, with 29.14 inches. Elsewhere in western
Washington, it was the wettest January since 2006 in Hoquiam (19.91 inches, or 193 percent of normal) and Olympia (15.56 inches, or 198 percent). In contrast, January precipitation totals in Florida included 0.18 inch (5 percent of normal) in
Jacksonville and 0.44 inch (16 percent) in Daytona Beach. Meanwhile, not a drop of rain fell during January in Las Vegas, NV, for the first time since 1976.

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