2002 Central Plains Ice Storm

Ice Accumulaon during the Ice Storm. The image above is believed to be a replaceable fair use image. It will be deleted on 2007-01-27 if not determined to be irreplaceable. If you believe this image is not replaceable, follow the instructions on the image page to dispute this assertion.
Duration	January 30-31, 2002
Damages	$111 million
Fatalities	>1
Areas affected	Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma.

The 2002 Central Plains Ice Storm was a major winter storm that affected the American Midwest, causing significant damage expecially in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Ice storm could refer to: A type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) none Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²)  - Width 211 miles (340 km)  - Length 417 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Ice storm could refer to: A type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. ... A typical view of a winter storm. ... Midwest States (United States of America, ND to OH) The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a metropolitan area situated at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers (Kaw Point) and straddling the state border between Missouri and Kansas. ...

The initial storm

Up until the point of the storm the weather in Kansas City had been remarkably pleasant, the city appeared to be experiencing a mild winter, and 2 days before the storm the tempature was over 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to Weather Central;

"An arctic front moved slowly southward into the Central Plains from January 29 to 30, resulting in a shallow layer of cold air near the surface. Meanwhile, a strong southwesterly jet stream began transporting a large surge of moist air with connections to the tropical Pacific. A strong temperature boundary developed, separating the warm, moist airmass across the southern U.S. from the colder, drier airmass to the north. As surface impulses moved along the frontal boundary, the stage was set for a widespread variety of winter weather. An upper level low progressing eastward across the central Pacific provided the added ingredients for a prolonged precipitation event.

Aftermath

The storm left up to 2 inches over the affected reigions on the evening of January 30th. Affected infrastructure initially held but began to crumble as the night wore on. Electric transformers were prone to explosion and in some cases created small fires, and trees shattered under the weight of hundreds of pounds of ice. After the 31st, More than 650,000 residents were without power, including 350,000 in the Kansas City metropolitan area alone. In some cases, power didn't return to residents for nearly 14 days. Approximately 500,000 trees were affected in Kansas City alone, including 2 "Bicentennial Trees" which were estimated at being over 200 years old.States of emergency were announced by the governors of all 3 states.

References

• Kansas City Star coverage of the Ice Storm.

• Additonal KC Star Coverage.

• Articles from CEE News, a magazine that served electrical contractors and engineers.

• a personal account of the storm

• Another Personal Account

• Weather Central coverage of the storm

• Norman, OK NOAA branch article

• Article reguarding Bicentennial Trees