December 2015 North American storm complex
An extratropical cyclone developed ahead of this upper-level trough over the West Coast, which moved southeast into the Southwestern United States early on December 26.As it did so, a long cluster of heavy showers and thunderstorms fired up from eastern Oklahoma to southwestern Missouri, which set up a severe flooding event.One of the cells produced a violent EF4 wedge tornado, which ripped through parts of Garland and Rowlett, Texas, causing major damage and killing 10 people.In total, the storm complex dumped up to two feet (60 cm) of snow in the western parts of Texas, a very rare and historic occurrence in the affected areas.[5] By December 28, the storm complex had moved into the Central United States, producing more snow, ice, heavy rain, and severe weather in an area stretching from the Midwest into Louisiana.Nine people were killed when their vehicles were lofted and thrown long distances from an elevated highway bridge at the George Bush Turnpike and I-30 interchange, whereas another death occurred after a man sustained injuries in a collapsed home.[49][50] An EF3 tornado moved through multiple subdivisions in Ovilla and Glenn Heights, Texas on the south side of the metroplex, destroying numerous homes and two churches.Ten people in Garland, Texas died as a result of a large and powerful EF4 wedge tornado that also destroyed many homes in the neighboring suburb of Rowlett.[3][47][66][67] The combination of heavy snow, strong winds, and bitterly cold temperatures resulted in blizzard conditions across most of New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, western Oklahoma and West Texas.[68] In the path of this Texas low, a swath of snow and ice impacted the central Plains and Midwest from Oklahoma to Wisconsin as the storm system moved northeastward toward the eastern Great Lakes.The storm system spread a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to New York State and New England, disrupting travel in the region.