Dangerous winter storm sweeps through area
WESTSIDE — It was billed as a once-in-ageneration winter storm of epic proportions as far back as Friday, Dec. 16. By the next day, as the storm plowed through the upper Northwest, it had met all the criteria of the National Weather Service and the Weather Channel to be given a name, Elliot.
After leaving snow and strong winds behind in the Northwest, winter storm Elliot began its trek across the Rockies toward northwest Arkansas and, by Wednesday morning, area residents began preparing for Elliot’s wrath.
As early as Dec. 20, the National Weather Service began to worry that winter storm Elliot would strengthen into what the NWS described as a “bomb cyclone.” All forecast models led to the same conclusion: that the United States, from the border of Canada to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and eastward, was in for a wild ride.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a bomb cyclone or bombogenesis “occurs when a midlatitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, dropping at least 24 millibars over 24 hours. A millibar is a measure of atmospheric pressure. This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters. The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone” (oceanservice.noaa.gov).
As winter storm Elliot and the Arctic cold front moved into northwest Arkansas early Thursday morning, residents braced themselves for several cold days leading into Christmas Eve as temperatures, which had been in the lower 30s, began falling at an astonishing rate. By midday on Thursday, the temperatures dropped into the single digits, and moderate to heavy snow began to fall over the area as the cold front passed through and Elliot entered the area.
As the front passed by, any water on the road from light rain during the early morning hours flash froze, making the road slick but still passable until the snow from Elliot began.
As Elliot began moving toward the upper Midwest into the Great Lakes, it brought strong winds with gusts up to 40 miles an hour and greater in northwest Arkansas, prompting the weather service to issue a wind chill warning. These winds, which were steady at between 20 to 30 miles per hour, produced wind chills between 10 to 20 degrees below zero, making it extremely dangerous to go outside unless you wore several layers of warm clothing.
In such extreme temperatures, it only takes 30 minutes for hypothermia to set in and, if not treated, death can occur.
As Elliot entered the Great Lakes on Friday, it finally intensified into the bomb cyclone that was predicted and began wreaking havoc on the northern part of the country all the way to the east coast.
No one was spared the Arctic blast. As the front approached the Gulf Coast, the temperatures plunged into the teens all the way to the border. In Florida, the temperature dropped well below freezing as far as Orlando and Tampa Bay.
Winter storm Elliot has affected over two million people, claiming eight lives as of Friday night as it continued its march to the Atlantic Ocean. In one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, at least 4,000 flights were canceled across the country, including flights at Northwest Arkansas Regional.
And to make matters worse, widespread power outages due to Elliot across two-thirds of the country have left many without heat.
Local residents were fortunate that winter storm Elliot did not intensify into a bomb cyclone over the area as was originally predicted. But on the good side of this event, northwest Arkansas did get enough snow to have a white Christmas with few power outages in our area.
Residents may wish to brace themselves since there will likely be more storms to come during this winter season.