Sprawling Storm Dumps 2 Feet of Snow, Spawns Tornadoes, Fans a Destructive Wildfire and Brings Drought Relief

Chris Dolce
Published: November 30,2016
A multifaceted and sprawling storm system across the central and eastern states has produced a number of major impacts the last few days. Those impacts - from tornadoes and winds fanning a destructive wildfire, to heavy snow and drought relief -  have been both bad and good.

An overview of the storm system this week in the central and eastern states, and its impacts Monday-Wednesday. The surface fronts illustration is from Tuesday afternoon.

This image illustrates the wide-reaching nature of the weather system, with low pressure stalled in the northern Plains, and its associated surface fronts spanning across parts of the eastern and southern states.
Here are more specifics on the four impactful aspects of this week's storm system.

1.) 2 Feet of Snow in the Plains

A sculpture of a bison on the state Capitol grounds is covered in snow in Bismarck, North Dakota, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, the second day of Winter Storm Blanche in central North Dakota. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)

With the area of low pressure stalled in the northern Plains, the Dakotas and eastern Montana dealt periods of snow Monday-Wednesday, adding up to some impressive totals.
The top total as of Wednesday morning was 24 inches, or two feet, near Van Hook Park, North Dakota.
Bismarck, North Dakota, was buried by 18 inches, making it the heaviest snowstorm there in 23 years, and the 10th heaviest three-day total dating to 1886.
Gusty winds in combination with snow led to poor travel conditions. This forced closures on a portion of Interstate 90 in western South Dakota, and a stretch of Interstate 94 in North Dakota.
(MORE: Winter Storm Blanche Snow Totals)
The storm also spread snow into northern Maine later Tuesday, where up to 15 inches had piled up as of Wednesday morning.

2.) Strong Winds Fan Destructive Tennessee Wildfires

The Alamo Steakhouse is damaged from the wildfires around Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)

As the cold front associated with the storm system pushed east, strong winds developed across the South on Monday.
Wildfires near the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, areas quickly grew out of control as those strong winds fanned the flames across dry vegetation from a long-term drought. The Gatlinburg Fire Department reported a wind gust to 63 mph early Monday evening as the fire was at its peak.
An estimated 15,000 acres were scorched, destroying homes, buildings and leaving four people dead.
The smoke plume from the fire could easily be spotted on Doppler Radar Monday evening. At the same time, some drought-helping rainfall was closing in from the west, which eventually aided the situation.
(PHOTOS: Destructive Tennessee Wildfires)

3.) Two Rounds of Drought Relief

Estimated rainfall totals in the South this week through Wednesday morning. (NOAA)

The one piece of good news from this weather system is that it brought the first widespread rainfall in weeks to the parched southeastern United States Monday into Tuesday.
Atlanta saw its heaviest calendar day rainfall (2.33 inches) since Dec. 24, 2015, on Tuesday. That also ended a stretch of 43 consecutive days without measurable rain in the city.
Greenville, South Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina both saw their first calendar-day soaking of an inch or more since August on Tuesday.
A second round of much-needed rain pushed through the South Tuesday night-Wednesday. Oddly enough, that round of rain prompted flash flood warnings Wednesday morning in parts of northern Alabama and southeast Tennessee that are in extreme to exceptional drought. Radar estimated that 3 to 6 inches of rain had fallen in some locations.

4.) Tornadoes Sweep Across the South

Preliminary tornado reports from November 29 through early morning November 30, 2016. (Data: NOAA/NWS/SPC)

Another unfortunate aspect of this storm is the severe weather that it produced in the South.
The tail end of the frontal boundary in combination with strong jet stream winds resulted in the development rotating thunderstorms from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama and southeast Tennessee late Tuesday into early Wednesday.
(LATEST NEWS: Destructive Storms Hit the South)
There was a preliminary 22 reports of tornadoes across those states, although official National Weather Service surveys will determine the actual number of tornadoes that touched down.
At least five deaths have been blamed on the storms as of Wednesday afternoon: three in Jackson County, Alabama, and two in Polk County, Tennessee.

PHOTOS: Severe Storms Strike the South