page_title: 2019–20 North American winter
section_title: Late December Great Plains and Midwest blizzard
hierarchical_section_title: 2019–20 North American winter / Events / Late December Great Plains and Midwest blizzard
caption_attribution_description: On Dec. 31, 2019, GOES East saw a gradual abatement of a lake enhanced major winter storm system that has affected the Great Lakes region of the U.S. for the past two days. This storm, according to NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), “will continue to bring snow, wind, and hazardous travel conditions early this week over the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions.” Area residents are advised to exercise all due caution while doing routine activities. Weather advisories from Sunday, Dec. 29 stated that the heaviest snow fell in Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Hazardous Weather Outlook for the region elaborates that “accumulations around one to three inches will fall by [Dec. 31] afternoon as an upper-level disturbance moves across the Great Lakes.” However, there is little probability for lasting accumulation for the most heavily populated Southeast Lake Michigan region, with much more settling around Lake Erie instead due to a low-pressure system coming into Ontario, Canada on New Year’s Eve. Fortunately, snow is expected to cease around Lake Michigan by early morning on New Year’s Day. The GOES East geostationary satellite, also known as GOES-16, keeps watch over most of North America, including the continental United States and Mexico, as well as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Africa. The satellite's high-resolution imagery provides optimal viewing of severe weather events, including thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
context_page_description: The 2019–20 North American winter refers to winter in North America as it occurred across the continent from late 2019 through early 2020. Winter weather in the US was a bit on the inactive side as most of the US experienced a warmer than average winter which is all thanks to the strong polar vortex throughout much of the winter. While there is no well-agreed-upon date used to indicate the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, there are two definitions of winter which may be used. Based on the astronomical definition, winter begins at the winter solstice, which in 2019 occurred on December 21, and ends at the March equinox, which in 2020 occurred on March 19. Based on the meteorological definition, the first day of winter is December 1 and the last day February 29. Both definitions involve a period of approximately three months, with some variability. Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three calendar months with the lowest average temperatures. Since both definitions span the calendar year, it is possible to have a winter storm in two different years.
context_section_description: The winter storm had the largest impact on the Midwestern states, as it affected Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota. In Fargo, North Dakota, there were many closings of schools, businesses, and roadways, from December 28 to December 30. Freezing rain lead to over 470 reported traffic accidents in Minneapolis.
caption: Plains being impacted by blizzard, as seen from space
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