January 2020 North American storm complex

The system that would eventually become the series of mid-January winter storms was first noted as an area of disorganized cloudiness to the east of Japan on 10 January. Slowly crossing the north Pacific, the system organized sufficiently to be named Winter Storm Jacob by The Weather Channel on 14 January, while located off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. After undergoing rapid intensification into a strong Pacific Northwest windstorm, Jacob made landfall over Washington state on 15 January. After crossing the northern United States, the system emerged into the north Atlantic on 17 January, crossing the coast of Virginia. The system then once again underwent rapid intensification as it followed the coast north-eastwards, making landfall in Newfoundland as a deep bomb cyclone on 18 January; the following day, the system emerged into the Labrador Sea and merged with another area of low-pressure, contributing energy to the formation of Storm Gloria.

Winter Storm Jacob, as the system was unofficially known in North America, made landfall over the Pacific Northwest on 15 January. In the community of Joyce, on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, {{convert|22|in|cm}} of snow was recorded. In eastern Oregon, high winds and blowing snow resulted in the closure of Interstate 84.{{cite tweet|number=1217546835071340545|user=NWSBoise|title=I-84 remains closed westbound at...|date=15 January 2020}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023}} Jacob brought heavy snowfall from Montana to Idaho and Utah and down into the Sierra Nevada of California on 16 January, including up to {{convert|26|in|cm}} of snow at Tahoe Donner, California.{{cite tweet|number=1218192206235750401|user=NWSReno|title=Here are a few snowfall totals. Reply to us with your snowy photos (location, elevation, & measurement). Sierra win… |date=17 January 2020}} On 17 January, an avalanche at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort in northern California, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, killed one person and seriously injured another.

Rare snowfall and freezing rain led to difficult commuting conditions on the morning of 17 January in Reno, Nevada; Omaha, Nebraska; and parts of the Texas Panhandle, including the Amarillo area. Freezing rainfall across Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas led to ice accretions of up to {{convert|0.5|in|cm}} widely by nightfall; icy conditions at Kansas City International Airport resulted in a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 sliding off of a taxiway onto grass while attempting to take off, although there were no injuries.{{cite news |title=Delta plane slides off taxiway at Kansas City International Airport |url=https://abc7ny.com/travel/delta-plane-slides-off-runway-in-missouri/5858193/ |access-date=2 May 2020 |publisher=WABC-TV |date=17 January 2020}}

As Jacob moved off into the Atlantic, winds gusting up to {{convert|60|mph|kph}} were recorded across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states on 18 January, leading to difficult conditions with existing blowing snow, with {{convert|500|mi|km}} of Interstate highways closing as a result. Up to {{convert|5|in|cm}} of snow was recorded in Chicago, Illinois; {{convert|7|in|cm}} in Detroit, Michigan; and {{convert|5|in|cm}} in Cleveland, Ohio. Further east, {{convert|3|in|cm}} of snow fell in Boston,[https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/october-snow-storm-boston-records/ Storm Smashes Boston Snow Record For October; Biggest Total Since Last Year], CBS Boston, October 30, 2020 and {{convert|2.1|in|cm}} fell in New York City.[https://www.wunderground.com/article/safety/winter/news/2020-05-09-new-york-city-record-latest-snowfall New York City Tied Its Record Latest Spring Snowfall, In One of Its Least Snowy Seasons], Weather Underground, May 9, 2020 The snow in New York City resulted in a crash on the Bronx River Parkway with eight injuries occurring, one of which was life threatening.[https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/eight-people-injured-in-crash-on-bronx-river-parkway-fdny/2261845/ Eight People Injured in Pileup on Bronx River Parkway: FDNY], NBC New York, January 18, 2020

As Winter Storm Jacob emerged into the Atlantic on 18 January, it passed offshore close to Atlantic Canada, bringing high winds and heavy snowfall widely. Worst affected was Newfoundland, where St. John's recorded over {{convert|30|in|cm}} of snow, breaking the city's all-time single-day snowfall record. Mount Pearl had {{convert|93|cm|in}} of snow.{{Cite web|url=https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/weathersummaries_e.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200119175119/https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/weathersummaries_e.html|archive-date = 2020-01-19|title = Weather Summaries - Environment Canada|date = 6 August 2013}} As a result of the severe blizzard, 21,000 homes were left without power and a state of emergency was declared across Newfoundland, banning all road travel except for emergencies. A 26-year-old man was reported missing after failing to return home from a walk in the blizzard in Conception Bay.

High winds, gusting up to {{convert|97|mph|kph|order=flip}} in the Avalon Peninsula, {{convert|164|kph|mph}} in Bonavista, Newfoundland{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/bonavista-storm-surge-rebuilding-1.5436470| title = Bonavista homes at risk if seawall is not repaired, says mayor {{!}} CBC News}} and {{convert|171|kph|mph}} in Green Island (Fortune), Newfoundland and Labrador{{Cite web|url=https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/weathersummaries_e.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200119175119/https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/weathersummaries_e.html|archive-date = 2020-01-19|title = Weather Summaries - Environment Canada|date = 6 August 2013}} damaged the roofs of houses and created snowdrifts as high as {{convert|15|ft|m}} against buildings and vehicles, trapping people indoors for several days and hindering emergency vehicle access; fire engines required snowplough escorts, and snowmobiles were used to transport patients to local hospitals in the days following the blizzard. The storm created an avalanche in The Battery, St. John's.{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/avalanche-battery-blizzard-evacuation-st-johns-1.5431805| title = Avalanche in St. John's neighbourhood prompts partial evacuation {{!}} CBC News}} Many meteorologists in the area described this storm as the worst winter storm they had ever seen.

• Storm Gloria (2020), which brought heavy snowfall across similar areas several days prior to this storm

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{{United States winter storms}}

Category:2019–20 North American winter

Category:January 2020 in Canada

Category:January 2020 in the United States

Category:2020 disasters in Canada

Category:Blizzards in Canada

Category:Blizzards in the United States

Category:Nor'easters