Lessons Learned From the Winter of 2006-2007

摘要

The winter of 2006-2007 will be remem-bered as one of the most severe on record, bringing an unprecedented number of major storms to the United States and causing billions of dollars worth of damage. In total, 14 major winter storms—two more than ever before—hit the United States last year, including a devastating winter storm in Buffalo, New York, in mid-October, followed by 12 more major storms from November through mid-April. The 2006-2007 winter season was notable not only for the number of storms it generated, but also for the geographic distribution of the foul weather; in the contiguous United States, only Florida and California escaped the effects of last year's relentless storms. Some of the more unusual events included a record snowstorm in Arizona in January, two major snowstorms in Colorado in December; one large snowstorm in Washington and Oregon in December; major ice storms in both January and February in the Deep South; and record-high snowfalls in the High Plains, Midwest, and Northeast from three major January and February storms. By the time the last of Mother Nature's winter fury had diminished, the winter season had dragged on for a full 6 months, wreaked $2.05 billion in damages, and caused 214 deaths.