December 2009 North American blizzard

December 2009 North American blizzard

Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI/NOAA: 12.78)
Satellite image of the nor'easter on December 20 near the Mid-Atlantic states.
Type	Extratropical cyclone Blizzard Winter storm
Formed	December 16, 2009[1]
Dissipated	December 20, 2009
Lowest pressure	968 millibars (28.6 inHg)[2]
Tornadoes confirmed	4
Max. rating1	EF0 tornado
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	26.3 inches (67 cm)[3]
Fatalities	7 fatalities[4]
Areas affected	East Coast of the United States (from North Carolina to Maine) Canadian Atlantic provinces (portions of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador)[5]
Part of the 2009–10 North American winter 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The December 2009 North American blizzard was a powerful nor'easter that formed over the Gulf of Mexico in December 2009, and became a major snowstorm that affected the East Coast of the United States and Canadian Atlantic provinces. The snowstorm brought record-breaking December snowfall totals to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

The blizzard disrupted several regions, and in some areas the snowfall rate prevented snow plows from maintaining the roads. The blizzard caused flights and trains to be canceled, and left areas without power. Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and New Castle and Kent counties in Delaware declared a state of emergency. Seven deaths were reported to have been caused by the storm.