Fall's Fury: Photos Capture Destructive Weather Events of 2013

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

November 5,2013; 5:49PM,EST

 

 

Though many view fall as a transitionary season from summer to winter, it brings its share of tumultuous weather in the United States. Despite picturesque scenes of changing leaves and bare trees, the fall season threatens tropical systems, wildfire dangers, early-season snow and thick fog, among others.
Fall of 2012 became infamous for Superstorm Sandy, when it made landfall on the East Coast on the United States, but 2013 certainly had its share of devastating events.
September Rainfall Leaves Boulder, Colo., Underwater
Buildings are surrounded by flood water during a helicopter search of the area around Boulder, Colo., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013. The Office of Emergency Management says that the weather is expected to be clear enough to allow helicopters to take to the skies to rescue flood victims. (AP Photo/Denver Post,Joe Amon, POOL)
When a storm unleashed more than 9 inches of rainfall over Boulder, Colo., beginning Sept. 11, it caused massive flooding and claimed three lives.
Rain fell at a rate of 1 inch per hour in the city, making roads impassible, trapping cars, collapsing one house and leaving residents in the mountainous parts of the city isolated without water, septic or sewer.
By Sept. 12, the city's emergency manager issued a local disaster and emergency declaration.
October Blizzard Dumps Feet of Snow on South Dakota
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013, aerial photos shows dead cattle near Faith, S.D., during a flyover of areas hard hit by a weekend snowstorm that killed thousands of animals. (AP Photo/KOTA-TV, Pool)
From Oct. 3 to Oct. 5, a powerful blizzard pummeled portions of South Dakota, dumping as much as 48 inches of snow in some locations. The worst of the blizzard hit the Black Hills region, bringing strong winds and white-out conditions.
For many, it was a storm that took their livelihood with it. The blizzard was blamed for the death of tens of thousands of cattle, impacting nearly half of the state, Jodie Anderson, the executive director of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association told AccuWeather.com.
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The unseasonably early storm followed by a period of heavy rain resulted in hypothermia for animals that had not yet grown a thicker, winter coat. The combination was deadly, and economically-troublesome for the state and its area's cattle farmers.
Tropical Storm Karen Puts Southeast on High Alert
A crane lowers a flood gate into Hero Canal, as part of the hurricane protection system protecting the greater New Orleans area, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Karen, in Belle Chasse, La., Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In early October, Tropical Storm Karen in the Atlantic basin threatened to make landfall in the southeastern United States.
Karen developed amid the government shutdown which resulted in the furlough of thousands of government offices, including many at the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service. As the storm neared the coast, however, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reactivated the Hurricane Liaison Team and deployed incident management teams to states which were forecast to be affected.
Though the storm had been downgraded to a tropical rainstorm by the time it reached the coast, it brought heavy downpours and strong winds to the Southeast. Remnants of the storm then moved up the Atlantic Coast, impacting the mid-Atlantic in the following days.
Strong Santa Ana Winds Cause Highest Fire Threat in Five Years for Southern California
Daniel Fawcett of the U.S. Forest Service sets a back-fire to combat a wildfire in Wrightwood, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. A wind-fanned wildfire that charred some 5 1/2 square-miles of the San Gabriel Mountains continued to rage Sunday as firefighters worked to prevent flames from advancing toward a mountain resort community. (AP Photo/Francis Specker)
The Los Angeles National Weather Service announced in early October that strong Santa Ana winds were resulting in the highest wildfire threat in the past five years.
With severe drought gripping much of the region, an abundance of dry vegetation made matters worse.
The Santa Anas delivered peak wind gusts of 60-70-mph throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and resulted in hazardous travel conditions, particularly for high-profile vehicles, in areas such as the Grapevine, Interstate 5 through the the Central Valley and Interstate 15 through the Cajon Pass toward Las Vegas.
While Santa Ana winds are typically strongest during the fall and winter months in Southern California, for a short period they overlap with the peak of the region's wildfire season.
Winds Whip Northeast, Great Lakes Knocking Out Power to Thousands
Three people were reported injured when strong winds resulted in the collapse of scaffolding near Times Square in Manhattan. (Photo/@gabrielsperber)
As a strong disturbance exited the Great Lakes in early November, strong winds whipped eastward toward the upper Atlantic coast.
New York City; Philadelphia; Boston; Burlington, Vt.; Portland, Maine; Toronto and Montreal were all in the line of fire.
The windy conditions caused travel delays at major Eastern airports including New York City, Boston and Philadelphia. La Guardia was reporting delays of up to three hours at times.
In Manhattan, winds as high as 40-mph resulted in the collapse of scaffolding near Times Square. Three were injured in the collapse, according to the New York Daily News.
More than 90,000 were reported without power at times in southern and northeastern Ontario, Environment Canada reported.

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Have questions, comments, or a story to share? Email Jillian MacMath at macmathj@accuweather.com, follow her on Twitter @Accu_Jillian or Google+. Follow us @breakingweather, or on Facebook and Google+.