2015-16 United States winter storm season

The **2015-16 United States winter storm season** was a near-average winter storm season. Only 22 named storms formed, starting at Ajax and ending at Vexo. This was also the first season with no off-season storms. The 2015-16 season was the most violent season in terms of damages and fatalities. Winter Storm Jonas caused $3 billion in damages. Winter Storms Goliath and Jonas combined caused a record number of 114 fatalities. The other seven fatalities of the season come from two separate winter storms.

## Some attributes

### First

**First storm formed:** November 15, 2015

### Second

**Last storm dissipated:** April 18, 2015

### Third

**Strongest storm:** Mars - 979 millibars

## Other attributes

### Fifth

**Total damages:** ~$6.9 billion (record)

## Seasonal Snow Index (SSI)

Every year, the Season Snow Index is taken. It is the average of the top snowfall totals of each season. The 2015-16 season had an SSI of 25.3545455 inches of snow.

## Storms

### Winter Storm Ajax

 **Peak Intensity** | 30 (in.), Unk mbar

Winter Storm Ajax formed on November 15. Winter Storm Ajax delivered a crippling combination of snow and wind to parts of the High Plains from late Nov. 16 into early Nov. 18. The storm also dumped snow from California's Sierra Nevada into the Rockies Nov. 15-16. The storm dumped more than a foot of snow in some locations with wind gusts topping 60 mph. Long stretches of major interstates were shut down by Ajax, one wreck triggered a jam of at least 100 stranded vehicles, and flights were cancelled out of Denver International Airport Nov. 17. As expected, an impressive contrast in conditions was observed from west to east across the Denver metropolitan area Nov. 17, ranging from flurries and light snow with roads barely wet near Boulder, to heavy snow near Denver International Airport. A 174-mile stretch of I-70 from E-470 to Goodland, Kansas, was closed Nov. 17 due to local whiteout conditions. A 55-mile stretch of I-25 was also shut down in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, due to icy roads and spinouts. A number of other U.S. and state roads were also closed Tuesday morning in Colorado and New Mexico. The warm side of Ajax also triggered a tornado outbreak in parts of the Plains. Ajax dissipated on November 18.

### Winter Storm Bella

 **Peak Intensity** | 18 (in.), Unk mbar

Winter Storm Bella formed on November 19. Bella not only brought the first accumulating snow of the season for some in the Great Lakes and Midwest, but also was one of the heaviest November snowstorms of record for some. Parts of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, metro area picked up over a foot of snow in an intense snowband. A similar setup impacted parts of northern Illinois, including some of Chicagoland. A band of heavier snow enhanced by Lake Michigan impacted Chicago, resulting in very low visibility as it pivoted through the area. Despite lacking strong surface low pressure, these systems are notorious heavy snow generators in the Midwest. Bella dissipated on November 21.

### Winter Storm Cara

 **Peak Intensity** | 25 (in.), Unk mbar

Winter Storm Cara formed on November 26. Winter Storm Cara produced ice accumulations from freezing rain over a swath of the central Plains. A textbook combination of Arctic air plunging south and tropical moisture surging north was responsible for the freezing rain across a swath of the southern and central Plains since Thursday, Nov. 26. Some areas saw enough ice to cause major power outages and extremely slick pavement for drivers and pedestrians. Besides the mess of sleet and freezing rain, there was also heavy rain on the warm side of this storm system. The coldest air mass of the season so far in the West and the Plains helped to maintain the prolonged freezing rain event, providing a fresh supply of below-freezing air to slide along the ground underneath a layer of warm, moist air. The setup allowed precipitation to melt as it fell (and in some cases, to form as liquid droplets in the first place) before freezing on contact at ground level. The upper-level trough, or southward dip in the jet stream, dug in across the West. Combined with a strong area of high pressure from Canada, the result was the first serious blast of arctic air this season in the West and Plains. This led to the coldest temperatures so far this season for many areas. A couple of examples include Helena, Montana, where the lowest temperature recorded so far this season had been 14 degrees on Nov. 21; Helena fell to 6 degrees below zero both Thursday and Friday. Reno, Nevada had seen the mercury drop as low as 21 degrees on Nov. 11; Reno reached 20 on Friday and dipped to 16 on Saturday morning. According to NOAA, the nation's low Friday, Nov. 27 was 24 below zero at Antero Reservoir in central Colorado. This is the lowest temperature observed in the contiguous United States so far this season, and the lowest since a reading of 29 below zero was reported at Saranac Lake, New York, on March 6. In Big Piney, Wyoming, the mercury bottomed out at a record low of 22 below zero Friday. Even the West Coast has felt the chill. Oakland, California tied a record low Thursday morning when they fell to 35 degrees. Record lows were also tied or set Thanksgiving Day in Montague, California (13 degrees), and Quillayute, Washington (23 degrees). King City, about 90 miles southeast of San Jose, also tied a record low Friday morning (25 degrees). Several daily record lows were set Saturday morning, including Burns, Oregon, which dipped to 15 below zero degrees. In California, Sacramento (27 degrees) and Stockton (28 degrees-tie) also set daily record lows. On Sunday morning Burns, Oregon tied the record low of 15 below zero. Chadron, Nebraska also tied the record low for the day when the mercury dropped to 1 below zero and Montague, California set a daily record low of 8 degrees. Freezing rain first developed in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving in parts of northeast Colorado, eastern Wyoming, Nebraska and southern Minnesota and spread southward along with the advance of cold air. Friday and Saturday, freezing rain zeroed in on a part of the southern Plains from eastern New Mexico to West Texas, central and western Oklahoma, as well as further northeast across central and eastern Kansas to western Missouri. The freezing rain led to damaging accumulations of glaze ice late Friday through much of Saturday over portions of the Texas Panhandle and the western half of Oklahoma. The most significant ice accumulations appeared to be across the western side the Oklahoma City metro area, westward to roughly the U.S. Highway 183 corridor. In the El Reno and Eakly areas in Oklahoma, numerous photos shared via social media indicated that 1 to 1 1/2 inches of ice had accumulated on trees and other surfaces. El Reno sustained significant tree and power line damage due to the weight of substantial ice accretion. The National Weather Service relayed reports of downed trees due to the weight of the ice in Yukon, a suburb just west of Oklahoma City. Emergency management in Enid, Oklahoma, reported 3/4 to 1 inch of ice accretion on trees and power lines. Half an inch of ice glaze built up in Pampa and Claude, both in the Texas Panhandle, according to the National Weather Service in Amarillo. Automated ice accumulation sensors recorded 0.26 inch of ice accumulation in Winfield, Kansas, and 0.18 inch in Hutchinson and Wichita, Kansas, Friday into Saturday morning. Power was knocked out in all of Rockwell City, Iowa (population: 1,709) early Friday morning thanks to strong winds downing power lines loaded with about 3/8 inch of accumulated ice. Power lines were also reportedly downed near Lariat, Texas, Thanksgiving night. Other significant ice accumulation reports Friday included 3/8 inch on sidewalks in Blaine, Kansas, and 0.3 inch in both Beattie, Kansas and Wellington, Texas. Up to 1/4 inch of ice accumulation was reported in Omaha, Nebraska. Sunday morning, significant icing impacted central Kansas with numerous reports of scattered power outages and tree damage. Widespread power outages occurred in Hutchinson, according to a National Weather Service report. In White City, ice accumulated to an estimated diameter of three quarters of an inch on power lines and tree branches. Snow started to pile up on Tuesday across portions of the interior Northwest, Sierra Nevada and far northern Rockies. Some freezing rain was also reported in the Columbia Basin. Snow was reported in parts of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho on Wednesday. Bend, Oregon, reported 10 to 16 inches of new snow Tuesday night, with snowfall rates of 4 inches in 3 hours. This is quite impressive for this relatively dry plateau to the east of the Oregon Cascades, which only averages about 24 inches of snow each season. This heavy snow brought traffic to a standstill on U.S. 97 Tuesday night. Farther south, up to 23 inches of snow fell around Crater Lake, which The Weather Channel recently named the snowiest place in Oregon. Up to a foot of snow in the Sierra Nevada snarled traffic on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit in California Tuesday, as well. Up to 22 inches of snow was reported at Kirkwood Mountain Resort south of Lake Tahoe on the California side of the state line. On the Nevada side, Mount Rose Ski Area tallied 10 inches of snow, the top reported total in Nevada as of Wednesday afternoon. At least 17 people were killed by the storm system. Several of those deaths occurred on icy roadways, while others stemmed from flooding on the system's rainy side. Cara dissipated on November 29.

### Winter Storm Delphi

Winter Storm Delphi formed on November 29. Delphi dumped snow on the Plains and Upper Midwest. The heaviest snow totals ranged from 8-12 inches over parts of South Dakota, northern Nebraska, southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. The top snow totals from the storm were 12 inches near Valentine, Nebraska, and near Mosher, South Dakota. Minnesota saw up to 9.5 inches in Madison, while Iowa saw up to 9 inches in Hull. The snow was heavy for a time on November 30 in northeast Nebraska, northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota, falling at rates of more than one inch per hour. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 3.7 inches of snow fell in just two hours around lunchtime November 30. The official storm total there was 9.6 inches. Incidentally, the combination of Delphi and Winter Storm Bella pushed Sioux Falls to its fourth snowiest November on record, with 17.3 inches of snow. This is already more than half of the snow that fell all last season (31.9 inches) and is snowier than the 2011-2012 season (15.9 inches). A burst of moderate to heavy snow moved into the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area early November 30, dumping 1-3 inches on parts of the Twin Cities and another band of snow moved through the area Monday evening. Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport measured 3.9 inches of snow from the storm. Late November 29 into early November 30, Denver saw some light snow accumulations from Delphi, with 1.5 inches officially measured at the airport northeast of the city. Freezing rain was also observed in a few areas from Delphi with 0.25" of ice reported in Carroll, Iowa. Roads and sidewalks iced over in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Delphi dissipated on December 1.

### Winter Storm Echo

Winter Storm Echo formed on December 12. Echo dumped a swath of snow from the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada to the Great Basin, Rockies, northern Plains and Upper Midwest over a five-day span. While several states in the West saw a foot or more from the storm, the top reported total was an estimated 33 inches at one location in Nevada. The top directly measured total was 31.1 inches in Jefferson City, Montana. Echo dissipated on December 16.

### Winter Storm Ferus

Winter Storm Ferus formed on December 21. Ferus caused high winds in the Pacific Northwest on December 21, knocking out power and downing trees. Ferus dumped a total of 42" of snow. Ferus dissipated on December 23.

### Winter Storm Goliath

*Main article: Winter Storm Goliath*
Winter Storm Goliath formed on December 24. Goliath brought a huge swath of snow and ice from the West through a large part of the Plains, Midwest and Northeast. Within that zone, a historic blizzard buried the southern Plains in heavy snow whipped by wind gusts as high as 80 mph. Goliath brought two distinct rounds of wintry precipitation. The first affected parts of the West and a strip of the Upper Midwest from December 24 through December 26. The second round cranked up over the Southern Plains, bringing a blizzard to some areas late December 26 into December 27. Snow and ice from that phase of the storm spread into the central and northern Plains, the Great Lakes Region and parts of the Northeast from December 27 through December 29. Goliath was a major role in a rare tornado outbreak that caused a violent tornado to hit Garland, Texas, causing 10 fatalities. Overall, Goliath caused 59 fatalities, which makes it the deadliest of the 2015-16 season. Goliath dissipated on December 29.

### Winter Storm Hera

Winter Storm Hera formed on January 8. Hera brought snow to parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachians. Hera also brought strong to locally damaging winds farther east across portions of New England and the interior Northeast. Hera brought snow to parts of the southern Plains and Midwest. In parts of the Northeast, unseasonably mild temperatures were experienced on the warm side of Hera. Instead of snow, these areas saw primarily rain. The rain also pushed the first occurrence of snow this season even deeper into winter than usual, in some cases into record territory, for some locations. A maximum wind gust of 71 mph was recorded from Hera. Hera dissipated on January 10.

### Winter Storm Ilias

Winter Storm Ilias formed on January 19. Ilias caused a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain across parts of the Central Plains, Midwest and mid-Mississippi Valley. As Ilias moved east, it also dropped snow over the central to southern Appalachians and parts of the Middle Atlantic region on January 20. Freezing rain resulted in slippery roads with numerous accidents from eastern Kansas into southern Missouri, northern Arkansas and Tennessee. Some icy roads from freezing rain and sleet were reported in the Nashville metro area, and some icing was reported in north Georgia, as well. Parts of the northern Atlanta metro saw a mixture of sleet and rain. Snowfall from Winter Storm Ilias was generally light, with a swath of about 2 to 5 inches from Iowa to the Appalachians. A bit of the snow survived the trek over the mountains, dropping an inch or so on the Washington, D.C. metro area. There was just enough snow to cause numerous traffic accidents over parts of D.C. and surrounding areas. Ilias dissipated on January 20.

### Winter Storm Jonas

*Main article: Winter Storm Jonas*
Winter Storm Jonas formed on January 22. Jonas produced prolific amounts of snow in parts of the East, rivaling infamous snowstorms of the recent past. Snowfall totals from the storm topped out near 42 inches in West Virginia and at least 14 states in total received more than a foot of snow from the storm. Jonas was the fourth most powerful snowstorm to hit the Northeast in at least 60 years, according to the NOAA. The agency gave the storm a rating of 7.66 on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS), which ranks storms according to inches of snowfall, geographic reach, and population affected. Almost 24 million people saw more than 20 inches of snow and 1.5 million got more than 30 inches, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Kocin, who helped develop the scale. He called the storm a slightly smaller version of a January 1996 blizzard, No. 2 on the list, which covered a similar area. The scale doesn’t take into account other misery metrics, such as storm-related deaths, flight cancellations and power outages. On the Regional Snowfall Index scale (RSI), Jonas ranked as a Category 5 "extreme" blizzard, being the first named winter storm to do so. Jonas was the benchmark storm for some individual locations across the large area it affected, including places with a long period of record. This includes Baltimore where the storm total of 29.2 inches at BWI airport beat the President's Day II storm of February 16-18, 2003, that dumped 26.8 inches. Records there date back to 1892. The 30.2 inches of snow Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, saw ranked as the heaviest snowstorm there dating to 1888, according to the National Weather Service. Though the period of record is shorter, Jonas was also the heaviest snowstorm for New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports, dating back to the 1940s. Jonas caused an overall $3 billion (2016 USD) in damages, which makes it the costliest named winter storm on record. Jonas also caused 55 fatalities, which makes it the second-deadliest named winter storm on record, behind Winter Storm Goliath. Jonas dissipated on January 24.

### Winter Storm Kayla

Winter Storm Kayla formed on February 1. Kayla pummeled parts of the Plains with blizzard conditions, dumping over a foot of snow in some areas. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds gusting up to 50 mph led to widespread travel impacts, including some interstate closures. In parts of Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, thundersnow was reported during the height of the storm on February 2. Kayla was also one of the heaviest snowstorms on record in portions of Nebraska dating to the late 19th century. Kayla dissipated on February 3.

### Winter Storm Lexi

Winter Storm Lexi formed on February 4. Lexi caused a difficult morning commute over portions of the mid-Atantic region and New York City metropolitan area. Lexi also dropped heavy snow across parts of southern and eastern New England. Up to 14.3 inches of snow fell in Coventry, Connecticut, while 12.5 inches piled up in Worcester, Massachusetts. Snow also fell at the rate of 1 inch per hour at New York's JFK Airport, and lightning accompanied snow early on February 5 over Newark, New Jersey. A daily snowfall record was set at Bangor, Maine, where 10.9 inches was reported. Lexi dissipated on February 5.

### Winter Storm Mars

*Main article: Winter Storm Mars*
Winter Storm Mars formed on February 8. Mars was a quick-hitting winter storm that mainly affected New England on Monday, February 8. Extreme southeast Massachusetts saw the worst conditions from Mars, with blizzard conditions and coastal flooding both observed. The snow and strong winds that moved through New England were from a strong area of low pressure passing well off the East Coast. That area of low pressure underwent what meteorologists call bombogenesis. This is a term generally applied to a storm whose minimum pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, indicating a strong and rapidly intensifying storm system. In the case of Mars, the pressure dropped from 1004 millibars at 7 a.m. EST February 7 to 979 millibars by 1 a.m. EST February 8, or 25 millibars in 18 hours. Despite the far offshore track of the strong low, Mars still had a major impact on eastern New England due its very large area of precipitation and strong winds. Wind gusts peaked at 65 mph on Nantucket Island. Coastal flooding was reported in several locations along the Massachusetts coast and even as far south as the Jersey Shore. Mars dissipated on February 9.

### Winter Storm Nacio

Winter Storm Nacio formed on February 8. Nacio brought snow to parts of the Ohio Valley, South, Appalachians and mid-Atlantic. The most concentrated snow from Nacio impacted southern parts of Pennsylvania. As much as 8.3 inches of snow was reported in Millersville, while Holtwood came in with 8 inches. Parts of at least six other states had locations that picked up a half foot or more of snow from Nacio, including Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Nacio dissipated on February 9.

### Winter Storm Olympia

Winter Storm Olympia formed on February 14. Olympia dropped a swath of snow and ice from the Plains into the Midwest, Appalachians and Northeast in the days around Presidents' Day 2016. Icy roads led to multiple accidents across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania from February 15-16, while more than 20 inches of snow piled up in western New York. This includes Rochester, New York, where 18.3 inches of snow was reported as of Tuesday evening, making February 16, 2016, their seventh snowiest calendar day on record and second snowiest February day, there. Interestingly, Olympia was also the snowiest one-day snowstorm on record at Ottawa International Airport, Canada, where 51 centimeters (just over 20 inches) of snow fell on February 16, according to Environment Canada. The previous record (40.6 cm or just under 16 inches) at Ottawa's Airport had stood since March 2, 1947. Incredibly, just 48 hours after one of the coldest mornings in decades in parts of the Northeast, temperatures in the 40s and 50s surged northward throughout the I-95 corridor. This was due to the inland track of a low-pressure system moving from the South into the interior Northeast, pulling milder air into the region. Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and eastern New England experienced strong winds as a band of heavy rain moved through the region. This brought down some trees and power lines on February 16. Olympia dissipated on February 16.

### Winter Storm Petros

Winter Storm Petros formed on February 23. Petros affected areas from the Midwest to the Northeast. The heaviest snow was reported in Indiana and Michigan, where some locations observed more than a foot of snow. As much as 17 inches of snow fell in Indiana, with over a half foot in parts of Michigan, Illinois, northern Arkansas and eastern Missouri. The combination of snow and strong winds caused power outages in the St. Louis metro and parts of central Illinois. In northwestern Indiana, blizzard conditions were reported and many vehicles were stuck or stranded. Generally light amounts of snow were reported in the Northeast, as Petros tracked well inland, which caused warm air to surge northward. This changed snow and ice over to rain in parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. Petros dissipated on February 25.

### Winter Storm Quo

Winter Storm Quo formed on February 29. Quo brought snow, and even some ice, from the Upper Midwest to northern New England for the first couple of days of March 2016. Quo dissipated on March 2.

### Winter Storm Regis

Winter Storm Regis formed on March 17. More than a half foot of snow piled up in parts of eastern Connecticut, eastern Massachusetts, extreme southeast New Hampshire and eastern Maine from Regis. Regis first brought snow to parts of the Rockies, including Denver, from March 17-18. Light snow accumulations were reported from Regis on March 19 in the far northwest suburbs of Washington, D.C. and parts of the central Appalachians through Sunday. Light snow then grazed the Baltimore to Philadelphia corridor and points east across the Mid-Atlantic on March 20. Regis dissipated on March 21.

### Winter Storm Selene

Winter Storm Selene formed on March 22. Selene pulled away from New England after bringing some snow and ice to the Northeast. Selene mainly affected the same areas Regis did days earlier. Up to 31 inches of snow buried parts of the Front Range of Colorado, including the Denver metro. Motorists were stranded on snow-choked roads in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Freezing rain, accompanied by lightning, hammered parts of southern Wisconsin, downing numerous trees and powerlines in Ozaukee County, triggering power outages. Trees were also downed in Dane County, including the city of Madison, and limbs were downed in Kent County, Michigan. Selene dissipated on March 25.

### Winter Storm Troy

Winter Storm Troy formed on March 28. Troy dumped feet of snow on parts of the Rockies during the final days of March. Some light snow also fell in the northern Great Lakes from the storm. Moderate to heavy snow from Troy affected the Reno, Nevada area, making for very hazardous travel conditions. The National Weather Service in Reno reported a storm snowfall total of 9.5 inches, while the airport saw 6.3 inches. In Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada, a few locations saw snowfall totals of more than 2 feet. The combination of snow and wind from Troy forced the closure of a large part of Interstate 80 in Wyoming on March 30. Troy dissipated on March 31.

### Winter Storm Ursula

Winter Storm Ursula formed on April 2. Ursula brought moderate to heavy snow to portions of New York and southern New England. Ursula was part of a series of clipper systems that impacted the Midwest and Northeast. The first clipper system brought snow and powerful winds to parts of the Midwest and Northeast regions from April 2-3. Ursula dumped more than a half foot of snow to parts of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island. Snowfall rates were locally heavy at times in some areas, including in Albany, New York, and parts of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Those high snowfall rates contributed to low visibility and dangerous travel conditions. Ursula dissipated on April 4.

### Winter Storm Vexo

Winter Storm Vexo formed on April 15. Vexo dumped heavy snow on the Rockies and adjacent High Plains. The storm buried the high terrain of Colorado with feet of snow, including a storm total of 51.3 inches near Pinecliffe. Up to a foot of snow even fell in the lower elevations at Denver International Airport. Portions of Interstate 80 were closed in southeast Wyoming due to poor travel conditions from the snow. Interstate 70 had to be closed at times to the west of Denver due to heavy snowfall. About 47,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power at some point during the storm in Colorado. Vexo dissipated on April 18, marking the end to the season.

## Storm names

The Weather Channel released the named storms on October 13, 2015 on the weather.com website.

* Bella
* Cara
* Delphi
* Echo
* Ferus
* Goliath
* Hera
* Jonas
* Kayla
* Lexi
* Mars
* Nacio
* Olympia
* Petros
* Regis
* Selene
* Troy
* Ursula
* Vexo
* Waylon *(unused)*
* Xenos *(unused)*
* Zandor *(unused)*