Savage Winter Storm Leaves Six Dead in the U.S. on Christmas
December 26, 2012
A powerful winter storm brought a white Christmas to the U.S. Midwest and tornadoes to the South. Little Rock, Arkansas, received 9 inches (91 centimeters) of snow, breaking a December 25 snowfall record that had stood for 86 years, and blizzard conditions hampered holiday travel in parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
The National Weather Service reported the sighting of more than 30 tornadoes in a line stretching from Texas and Louisiana to Mississippi and Alabama. Hardest hit was Mobile, Alabama, where numerous twisters and brutal, straight-line winds knocked down countless trees, blew off roofs, and left thousands of households without electric power on Christmas Day.
(Credit: © Colin McPherson, Corbis)
The storm caused the deaths of at least six people, primarily victims of car accidents on snow- and sleet-slickened highways in Arkansas and Oklahoma. One man was killed in Houston, Texas, when a tree fell on his pickup truck.
The same storm system is currently moving eastward, threatening the Carolinas. By the end of the week, it was expected to move up into the Northeast, with 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow predicted.
Additional World Book articles:
- Weather
- The Forecast: Better Weather Prediction Ahead (a special report)
- Weather Terms—Cloudy or Clear? (a special report)
