The Year's Biggest Weather Stories
This past year has been a wild one for weather, both in the US and around the world.
To review 2010’s uncommon string of weather occurrences, The Weather Channel,a sister network of CNBC, put together a list of the top 10 weather stories of the year, which will be the subject of a special show on The Weather Channel, on Saturday January 1st.
The weather of 2010 had significant economic consequences, dominated the headlines around the country and affected millions.
Click ahead to see the biggest weather stories of 2010.
By Paul Toscano
Posted 31 Dec 2010
10. One Wild December
First, a weekend blizzard in the Midwest led to the collapse of the Metrodome’s roof and displaced the Minnesota Vikings game. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds resulted in dangerous travel conditions throughout the Midwest, with accumulations in some areas totaling 26 inches.
In California and the Southwest, heavy rain poured for 6 days and flooded areas of California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. The month ended with wild snows that layered the East Coast, from North Carolina to Maine, snarling air travel as well as bringing temperatures that were so unseasonably low that they compromised Florida’s orange crops.
9. Iceland Volcano Stops Europe's Air Traffic
An aviation crisis began on April 14 with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in Iceland, which created the worst civil aviation breakdown in Europe since World War II. The ash plume hurled into the atmosphere and was picked up by west-to-east winds that dispersed particles over large portions of Europe.
As a result, European airspace was largely closed down to prevent the ash from damaging the aircraft in flight. It’s estimated by the International Air Transport Association that some 10 million passengers and 100,000 flights were affected in the 6 days after the eruption. The estimated loss in airline revenue: $1.8 billion.
8. US Tornadoes and Severe Weather
When it came to tornadoes, 2010 was an average year as far as number of recorded twisters, but several incidents stood out.
Yazoo City, Miss., was hit twice, seven months apart, with the first tornado setting a Mississippi record for being as much as 1.75 miles wide. On May 10, in the area around Norman, Okla., there were 70 tornado warnings issued. Meanwhile, on Oct. 6, Arizona experienced a record number of tornados in the state: eight. Not to mention New York City saw two tornadoes on Sept. 16, with the first “Killer Tornado” to hit the city in more than 115 years.
Lastly, a hailstone found near Vivian, S.D., now holds the country’s record hailstone weight at just under 2 pounds.
7. Major US Flooding
Heavy rains took a costly toll across the country in 2010.
In the Spring, New England was hit with three major rainstorms, causing flooding from Rhode Island to New Jersey. It was the wettest March on record for Boston, Providence and New York City.
Nashville was possibly the biggest flood story of the year, dubbed the “billion dollar” flood disaster. The city experienced two of the top three of its wettest calendar days in a row, on May 1 and May 2, pouring 6.32 inches and 7.25 inches on the city, respectively.
Floods hit several other parts of the country, including Oklahoma City, Arkansas, Milwaukee, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, California and South Dakota.
6. "Snowmaggedon" Winter Storms Wallop Northeast
Record snowfall fell in many cities throughout the Northeast Urban Corridor last winter with three major snowstorms that hit in February.
An incredible 32 inches of snow buried Dulles International Airport, leaving 25 percent of plows in Washington, D.C., out of commission. The storm struck between Feb. 5 and Feb. 6 was dubbed the “Snowpocalypse,” bringing with it dangerous traffic situations, roof collapses.
In New York City, February 2010 was the snowiest month in recorded history and cities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware had snow totals that more than quadrupled average season totals.
5. Haiti Earthquake Upends a Nation
The year 2010 got off to a horrific start when a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck the impoverished nation of Haiti on Jan. 12, leaving thousands dead and injured. Later, a cholera epidemic ensued and in that midst, Hurricane Tomas took a swipe at Haiti from Nov. 3-4 causing flash floods and heavy rains.
The catastrophic quake killed about 230,000 people, injured 300,000 and left nearly 1 million homeless. The Haitian Government estimated that 1 in 5 jobs would be lost. As a result of the economic and humanitarian devastation, numerous international bodies pledged massive aid, including the EU ($474 million), Brazil ($210 million), and the US ($100 million).
4. Major Flooding Strikes Pakistan
Extreme monsoon rains in Pakistan produced arguably the world's worst modern natural disaster during the summer of 2010, according to the Weather Channel.
The flood waters covered one-fifth of the country’s land area and as of December 2010 the death toll was estimated to be around 2,000 people. It was estimated that the floods affected nearly 200 million people, which was more than were affected by the 2004 tsunami or the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
3. Oil Spill in the Gulf
It was a story that dominated the headlines for months. The Gulf Oil Spill disaster gripped the nation from April through the heart of summer as workers tried to cap a gushing oil wellhead that resulted from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.
The disaster resulted in falling stock prices for all the companies involved, and eventually led to the resignation of BP’s CEO at the time, Tony Hayward. The disaster caused economic strife for millions along the Gulf Coast, seriously damaged tourism and forced BP to pay out billions in compensation for those affected. The total spillage was about 184 million barrels.
2. The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season
The second biggest weather story of 2010 was the Atlantic Hurricane season. It served as a reminder that it's not how many hurricanes form, but where they track.
Despite an Atlantic basin-wide total of 19 tropical storms, 12 of which became hurricanes—including five major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger)—no hurricanes and only one tropical storm made landfall in the United States this year.
Some US impacts did occur, including four cyclones bringing tropical storm conditions to some part of the country. However, most of the property damage and, in many cases, the casualties occurred elsewhere.
1. Record Heat
Unprecedented triple-digit heat in Russia, coupled with a searing, persistently hot summer in the Eastern and Southern parts of the United States made for an exceptionally warm year globally. Seattle experienced a record-setting warm January, while the entire planet had the warmest April since records were available in 1880.
All-time record highs were set during the year in more than a dozen countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, including Pakistan’s 128-degree day on May 26. For a full rundown of the heat situations, check out the Weather Channel’s analysis.