Winter Storm Goliath lived up to its name, bringing a huge swath of snow and ice from the West through a large part of the Plains, Midwest and Northeast from Dec. 24 through Dec. 29, 2015. Within that zone, a historic blizzard buried the southern Plains in heavy snow whipped by wind gusts as high as 80 mph.
(MORE: Science Behind Naming Winter Storms)
Goliath brought two distinct rounds of wintry precipitation. The first affected parts of the West and a strip of the Upper Midwest from Dec. 24 through Dec. 26. The second round cranked up over the southern Plains, bringing a blizzard to some areas late Dec. 26 into Dec. 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 Dec. 27 through Dec. 29.
(MORE: Snow, Ice Blamed for Deaths in Winter Storm Goliath)
Goliath brought the first official accumulating snow of the season to parts of the Northeast, including Boston (0.9 inch on Dec. 29) and Albany, New York (2.2 inches Dec. 28-29). For Albany, this is the latest first measurable snow in any snow season on record there, beating the old record set Dec. 24, 1912.
Below is a recap of snow, ice and wind reports from Goliath, grouped by the various phases of the storm over its lifetime.
First Phase of Goliath in West and Midwest: Dec. 24 - Dec. 26, 2015
All reports are for snowfall.- California: 28 inches near Soda Springs; 20 inches at Northstar Ski Resort and Kirkwood Ski Resort
- Colorado: 23 inches southwest of Montrose; 20 inches near Sharkstooth
- Idaho: 5.7 inches near Notus
- Michigan: 9 inches near Negaunee
- Minnesota: 8 inches in Westbrook; 3.9 inches in Duluth; 2.5 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
- Nebraska: 10 inches in Sidney; 6.5 inches in Mullen
- Nevada: 24 inches at Heavenly Ski Resort; 22 inches at Mt. Rose Ski Area
- Oregon: 14.5 inches near Gold Beach
- South Dakota: 12.8 inches in Hartford; 12 inches in Spearfish
- Utah: 12 inches at Camp Jackson
- Washington: 4.0 inches near Deer Park
- Wisconsin: 8 inches in Ashland; 6 inches in Superior
- Wyoming: 13.7 inches near Thayne; 9 inches near Wilson
New Mexico and Texas Blizzard Recap Dec. 26 - Dec. 28, 2015
Snow totals in New Mexico and Texas Dec. 26 into early Dec. 28, 2015.Saturday night into Sunday, Dec. 26-27, snow and wind gusts of 40 to 80 mph hammered parts of the southern High Plains, particularly eastern New Mexico, western Texas and western Oklahoma. Incredibly, a 70 mph wind gust peeled siding off a home in Clovis, New Mexico, Sunday afternoon.
The Clovis Municipal Airport, 3 miles north-northwest of Texico, New Mexico, reported an 82-mph wind gust shortly before 10 p.m. MST on Saturday, Dec. 26. Sustained winds at the same time were measured at 54 mph there, and snow was falling.
Snow drifts of up to 10 feet were reported in several eastern New Mexico and west Texas counties, where motorists were stranded due to the severe blizzard conditions.
Ski Apache in southeast New Mexico saw 41 inches of snow. Goliath dumped up to an estimated 30 inches of snow on Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where strong winds caused power outages as well. Roswell, New Mexico, saw a record one-day snowfall of 12.4 inches on Sunday with a storm total of 15.6 inches when including snowfall from Saturday.
In Texas, El Paso International Airport picked up 8.1 inches of snow, exceeding that city's average annual snowfall of 5.5 inches. Lubbock had its snowiest December day on record, picking up 11 inches of snow on December 27. Parts of the Midland metropolitan area picked up 7 inches of snow from Goliath.
Thundersnow was observed in parts of west Texas on early Sunday afternoon, including in San Angelo. Light snow and sleet even fell for a few hours Sunday afternoon in Del Rio, Texas, where accumulating snow had not fallen since February 2012.
New Mexico
Snow:
- 41 inches at Ski Apache
- 30 inches estimated in Cloudcroft, San Ignacio and Sandia Ski Area
- 24 inches in Queen, with drifts of 6 to 7 feet
- 20 inches near Artesia
- 15.6 inches near Roswell (record one-day total of 12.4 inches Sunday)
- 13.2 inches in Carlsbad
- 12 inches in Las Cruces
- 82 mph at Clovis Municipal Airport late Saturday
- 71 mph at Cannon AFB near Clovis Sunday
- 71 mph in Clayton
Snow:
- 20.0 inches at the cooperative observation site in Friona during the 48-hour period ending Monday morning, Dec. 28. This is an all-time record two-day snowstorm at the site, which has kept records since 1927.
- 12 inches in Alpine and Greenwood
- 11.2 inches in Lubbock
- 8.5 inches in Odessa
- 8.1 inches at El Paso International Airport (up to 10 inches northwest of the city)
- 6.1 inches in Amarillo
- 2 inches in San Angelo
- 67 mph wind gust near Olton on Saturday
- 65 mph wind gust near Amherst early Sunday
- Whiteout conditions in Plains, Farwell, Hale Center and Littlefield and other locations.
Snowfall and Wind Reports For Second Phase of Goliath in Plains, Midwest and Northeast Dec. 27 - 29, 2015
Reports are in alphabetical order by state and are for snow unless otherwise indicated.Northeast Reports
- Connecticut: 2 inches in Burlington and near Southington; 1.0 inch of snow and 0.15 inch of ice accumulation at Hartford International Airport in Windsor Locks
- Maine: 12 inches in Garland and Stetson; 7.1 inches at Portland International Jetport; 6.9 inches in Bangor; 5.3 inches at NWS Caribou
- Massachusetts: 3.8 inches in Haverhill; 1.4 inches in Worcester; 0.9 inches at Boston's Logan International Airport (first measurable snow of the season)
- New Hampshire: 8 inches near Northfield; 4.2 inches in Concord
- New Jersey: 1.2 inches in Wantage; 0.09 inch of ice accumulation at the Sussex Airport
- New York: 7 inches in Massena and near Hogansburg; 2.2 inches of snow and 0.20 inch of ice at Albany International Airport
- Pennsylvania: 0.25 inch of ice accumulation in Brookland, Bear Lake, Albrightsville, Cresco and Summit Hill; 1.1 inches of snow near Ambler
- Rhode Island: 1.3 inches in North Cumberland; 0.12 inch of ice accumulation in Providence
- Vermont: 6.1 inches near Braintree; 4.9 inches of snow and 0.02 inch of ice at the National Weather Service office in Burlington
Snow totals in the Midwest late Dec. 27 into early Dec. 29, 2015.Illinois
- Numerous power lines, poles and trees were downed due to over 0.25 inch ice accumulation and wind in Monmouth.
- Trees and power lines were also downed in Normal and Peoria.
- 1.9 inches of sleet at Chicago's O'Hare Airport
- 2.5 inches snow/sleet in Moline
- Snow: 11.5 inches near Monona; 10.3 inches at Waterloo Regional Airport; 5.6 inches at Des Moines International Airport
- Ice: 0.25 inch accumulation in Middletown with limbs and small trees downed; branches downed in Burlington
- Power outages due to icing in Arkansas City, Longton, Howard and Moline.
- 50 power poles downed due to 1 inch ice accumulation near Anthony
- Freezing rain and sleet caused some power outages and traffic accidents in Wichita
- 2.4 inches snow in Nortonville and Valley Falls.
- Sleet/ice: Up to 0.1 inch ice accumulation near Sandstone; 4 inches sleet in Holland and Big Rapids; 2 inches of sleet in Grand Haven; 1 inch of sleet in Kalamazoo
- Snow: 10 inches in Trout Lake; 8 inches in Alpena
- Snow: 12.5 inches in Mapleton; 8.5 inches in Rochester and Mankato; 5.5 inches at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport
- Ice: Up to 1 inch of ice accumulation near Yukon; one-quarter inch of ice accumulation near Enid and Burbank
- Sleet: 1 inch in Glenpool; 0.5 inch in Tulsa, Jenks and Claremore
- Snow: 7 inches near Vermillion, Brandon and Beresford; 5.6 inches near Sioux Falls; 5 inches in Dakota Dunes (near Sioux City)
- Snow: 14.6 inches in New London; 13.5 inches in De Pere with thunder; 12.2 inches in Appleton
- Official NWS snowfall totals: 13.2 inches in Green Bay; 9.9 inches in La Crosse; 9.1 inches in Milwaukee; 6.0 inches in Madison
- Ice: 0.20 inch of ice from freezing rain/drizzle near Jackson; 1 inch of sleet near Cuba City
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