page_title: North American blizzard of 2008
section_title: March 8–9
hierarchical_section_title: North American blizzard of 2008 / Meteorological synopsis and event / March 8–9
caption_attribution_description: Winter of 2007-2008 in Ottawa, Canada.
context_page_description: The North American blizzard of 2008 was a winter storm that struck most of southern and eastern North America from March 6 to March 10, 2008. The storm was most notable for a major winter storm event from Arkansas to Quebec. It also produced severe weather across the east coast of the United States with heavy rain, damaging winds and tornadoes, causing locally significant damage. The hardest hit areas by the wintry weather were from the Ohio Valley to southern Quebec where up to a half a meter of snow fell locally including the major cities of Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, and Ottawa, Ontario. For many areas across portions of the central United States, Ontario and Quebec, it was the worst winter storm in the past several years. The blizzard and its aftermath caused at least 17 deaths across four US states and three Canadian provinces, while hundreds others were injured mostly in weather-related accidents and tornadoes.
context_section_description: As of 9 am, Cincinnati had received 9 inches (230 mm) of snow (22 cm). Louisville, Kentucky reported 11 inches (280 mm) of snow (28 cm), while Columbus, Ohio got 9.5 inches (23 cm).  Several Ohio locations reported thundersnow early Saturday morning.  Parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio were under Blizzard Warnings.
  As the snow wound down Saturday night, snowfall totals were over 20 inches (50 cm) for parts of central Ohio, with most areas of Ohio reporting over 10 inches (25 cm). Port Columbus reported total snowfall of 20.4 in (51.8 cm), the most ever recorded for central Ohio. Large sections of Ohio including the Dayton and Cincinnati areas were under snow emergencies. 5 to 7 inches (12–17 cm) fell across Mississippi with over a foot of snow (30 cm) in parts of Kentucky (including Louisville) and Tennessee.  Residents reported in Leitchfield, KY that snow accumulated to 6-8 inches, with 10 at most in rural areas. For portions of Middle Tennessee, it was the worst snowstorm since 2003. Humphreys and Perry Counties along the Tennessee River both exceeded 8 inches (20 cm) of snow while portions of the Nashville area received 6 inches (150 mm); its biggest snowfall since March 19, 1996, where 9 inches (22 cm) fell. A large area of Tennessee affected by the winter storm were hit by several strong and deadly tornadoes just over one month earlier on February 5.
  In southern Ontario, some areas especially near the Niagara Peninsula received in excess of 50 cm (19 inches) of snow. Some areas in southeastern Ontario and southern Quebec saw in excess of 50 cm (20 inches) of snow with Ottawa receiving the highest amount with 48 cm (19 inches). Several areas across Ontario reported thundersnow with locally ice pellets and freezing rain closer to the Highway 401 corridor The storm also affected much of Atlantic Canada and New England with extensive freezing rain across most of New Brunswick although northern sections of the province received from 25 cm (10 inches) to as much as 50 cm (20 inches) in Campbellton. Heavy snow fell on some areas that already had close-to-record-breaking amounts of snow for that winter.
  Parts of Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and most of the Interstate 95 corridor along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States from the Carolinas to Maine also saw heavy rain while strong winds also accompanied the precipitation particularly along the eastern US where the winds were also accompanied by damaging wind causing localized damage to mostly trees, power lines and some structures including in the Philadelphia and Washington D.C. regions. About 80 mm of rain (3.2 inches) fell over Saint John, New Brunswick causing localized street and basement flooding. The system departed the continent and over the Atlantic Ocean on March 10 and crossed just west of the British Isles causing strong winds across Ireland, the United Kingdom and parts of western Europe.
caption: The accumulation of snow in Ottawa, Ontario dwarfs a stop sign on March 9
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