blizzard of 2013: february 8-9

BLIZZARD OF 2013: FEBRUARY 8-9
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INTRO: A high impact winter storm brought rain, wind, and record heavy snow to the eastern United
States on 8-9 February 2013. The heavy snow from southeastern New York and Long Island, across
Connecticut and into Maine was the result of a strong cyclone which tracked up the East Coast on 8
February before interacting with a northern stream wave. The two systems merged during the evening
hours of 8 February 2013. During this merger period intense snowfall affect central Long Island and
Connecticut producing areas of 30 to 40 inches of snowfall. From a historic perspective this storm was
compared to the February 1978 Storm. This was a top 5 snowfall event in many locations across
southern and eastern New England and for many sites in Long Island and Connecticut is the new
snowfall of record or the most snow recorded since the 1888 Blizzard.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/okx/StormEvents/storm02082013.html
Many residents of the Northeast didn’t welcome the potential blizzard of February with open arms. The
blizzard came on the heels of a historic late season hybrid storm at the very end of October in 2012
named Sandy that had the dubbed names such as Frankenstorm and Superstorm Sandy. Many residents
were still without full access to their homes, or left without homes all together. Interior New England
still had residents getting their lives and property back together after a historic flooding event took place
as Tropical Storm Irene went inland at the end of August, 2011. The Northeast had their share fair of
severe weather within 2011 and 2012 and they certainly weren’t hoping for anything else historic to
come by.
(Courtesy of M. Gross)
PRE-STORM:
On February 6 one of the most legendary winter storm analysts in the world, Paul
Kocin, wrote a sensational analysis of what could happen for the National Weather Service's
Hydrometerological Prediction Center. In part he wrote:
" THE 12Z RUNS INCREASINGLY POINT TO CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEW ENGLAND RECEIVING THE
BRUNT OF THE STORM AS THE CENTRAL PRESSURES OF THE LOW FALL TO THE 970S TO LOW 980S
WITHIN THE 12Z RUNS. THE LIKELIHOOD OF GREATER THAN 12 INCHES OF SNOW IS HIGH ACROSS
MUCH OF THE AREA AND AMOUNTS GREATER THAN 24 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS
EASTERN NEW ENGLAND. MIXED PRECIPITATION MAY HOLD DOWN AMOUNTS ACROSS SOUTHEAST
MASSACHUSETTS AND ALONG THE IMMEDIATE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COAST. THE GREATEST
AMOUNTS ARE FOUND JUST NORTHWEST FROM WHERE THE CYCLONE DECELERATES AND EVEN MAY
MAKE A BIT OF A LOOP AROUND ITSELF ON SATURDAY. THE 00Z AND 12Z ECMWF ALSO SHOW THE LOW
THEN MAKING A SLOW SOUTHEASTWARD TO EASTWARD MOTION BEFORE PULLING NORTHEASTWARD
INTO THE ATLANTIC. THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF BEHAVIOR EXHIBITED BY SOME OF THE MOST INTENSE
STORMS...SUCH AS THE MORE RECENT BLIZZARD OF 2005/APRIL FOOLS BLIZZARD OF 1997...THAT THIS
STORM MAY ALSO EXHIBIT."
http://ctaudubon.blogspot.com/2013/02/blizzard-of-2013-part-ii.html
Weenie Dreams: (For those of you who don’t follow weather circles regularly I will mention what a
weather weenie is here.) A weather weenie is:
-A weather enthusiast who gets excited by extreme weather, but who has little or no knowledge of the
science of meteorology.
-Weenies often inhabit Internet message boards and issue "wishcasts", which are forecasts based on the
author's desire for extreme weather. They try to justify their wishcasts with anecdotes and
pseudoscience.
-While professional forecasters examine computer models to make forecasts, weenies often treat the
forecasters themselves as data sources upon which to form their wishcasts.
-When an extreme weather event isn't going to plan, weenies will often react by issueing "bittercasts",
which greatly overestimate the extent to which the supposed extreme weather has weakened.
-Weenies are very self-absorbed and emotional, and become morbidly distraught when a forecasted
extreme weather event doesn't pan out in their backyard. Even if the forecast was generally correct for
surrounding areas, weenies will angrily denounce the forecasters.
(This is how I came up with the name TARC: Tropical Anonymous Rehab Center, several years ago. I
constantly observed how many weather enthusiasts in Facebook Groups would react during the tropical
season when a hurricane would weaken or go out to sea. They would argue with other members which
often resulted in them getting banned or removed from the group. I could almost sense when this
would happen and I figured that these individuals needed to go to “Tropical Rehab”.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weather%20weenie
At that point it was thought the storm could rival some of the greatest ever but would not take its
eventual place near the top. The North American Model (NAM) that runs out to 84 hours four times a
day insisted during several runs that we would see enormous amounts of precipitation. It yielded 73.3
inches of snow for Boston and about 97 inches in Maine at one point.
It is notorious for exaggerating actual totals and this provided some good laughs throughout the day.
Still, the situation kept changing and on the 12z Euro run on Thursday, February 7, we saw how much of
the area could get over two feet of snow as it came in with more precipitation and was even colder.
Bridgeport's climate station (at the Stratford airport) would have received 2.84 inches of water on that
run, 100% of it being snow, and conservative estimates would make that nearly 30 inches.
As we moved into Friday, February 8, the NAM continued to tell us there would be an insane amount of
water falling across some parts of the area. It became more realistic (but still seeming like a fantasy)
with amounts topping out around four inches and if even half of that actually fell it would be around
two feet of snow. The Euro was trending colder and wetter with possibly over 30 inches of snow in some
areas, and the fact the NAM continued with this the day before and of the storm made many people
wonder if it would somehow produce such an area of three or more feet. The Global Forecast System
(GFS), America's long-range model, had trouble with the storm nearly until the end. At the very least it
did keep insisting it would be further east and keep areas like New York City outside of huge totals, and
in this way it was correct.
(Courtesy: Timmy Belles)
(Courtesy: Hans VanBenschoten)
It is notorious for exaggerating actual totals and this provided some good laughs throughout the day.
Still, the situation kept changing and on the 12z Euro run on Thursday, February 7, we saw how much of
the area could get over two feet of snow as it came in with more precipitation and was even colder.
Bridgeport's climate station (at the Stratford airport) would have received 2.84 inches of water on that
run, 100% of it being snow, and conservative estimates would make that nearly 30 inches.
Below is a QPF from the 00z NAM on Feb 7. Totals of up to 5” of liquid precipitation were being
modeled.
The storm was relatively well predicted 1 to 3 days in advance and the European Centers high resolution
model provide some insight into storm potential about 6 days in advance. As the storm approached and
the forecast length decreased the models and ensemble prediction systems produced a deep cyclone
with an anchoring intense anticyclone to the north, resulting in forecasts of 850hPa winds -5 to 6 σ
below normal, implying a near record if not historic event. With the strong frontal forcing implied by
the strong winds, both model and ensemble forecast system quantitative precipitation forecasts were
on the order of 25 to 50 mm in areas where the predicted precipitation type was forecast to fall mainly
as snow. Forecasts of 18 to 38 inches were common in SREF forecasts at least 48 hour prior to the onset
of precipitation
http://cms.met.psu.edu/sref/severe/2013/09Feb2013.pdf
Preparation:
Millions of people in the Northeast and New England battened down today for a weekend blizzard
today. Forecasters warned it could be one for the record books.
By this afternoon, the gathering storm was beginning to whiten the landscape for hundreds of miles,
with long hours of snowfall still to come. Fueling this storm is two low-pressure systems, one from the
Midwest, the other from the Southeast, colliding over the Northeast and New England.
Blizzard warnings were posted in seven states from New Jersey on up to Maine. At least three declared
emergencies, and schools closed in a number of cities. Forecasters predicted New England would get the
worst of it, with up to three feet of snow likely in Boston.
BERNIE RAYNO, AccuWeather: Well, I will tell you what.
The worst of this storm, as we have been pointing out all week, is going to be across Southern New
England. Two storms, as you mentioned, and the first storm across the Midwest already producing quite
a bit of snow across parts of New York State. But it’s the second storm as it strengthens and moves
north and northeast, we’re already starting to get bands of heavy snow now across New England in
toward Boston, Providence, Hartford, snowing in New York City.
And by tonight, this storm is really going to start intensifying here. And anywhere in this white, New
York City, Providence, Boston — Boston, right up the I-95 toward Bangor, Maine, this whole area is going
to start seeing snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour.
We’re going to see wind gusts between 50 and 60 miles per hour, and that’s going to produce a lot of
blowing and drifting snow, heaviest snow accumulations in the blue here across Southern New England
anywhere from 18 to 24 inches, and there will be locations that pick up over two feet.
OBSERVED:
Watches and warnings were issued in preparation for the storm, and state governors
declared states of emergency in all states in New England and in New York. Flights at many major
airports across the region were canceled, and travel bans were put into place on February 8 in several
states. Hundreds ended up stranded on Long Island late on February 8 as a result of the rapidly
accumulating snowfall. A combination of strong winds and heavy, wet snow left 700,000 customers
without electricity at the height of the storm. At least eighteen deaths were attributed to the storm.
By late on February 7, 2013, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for the
northeastern United States, from the Upper Midwest to New England. There was also a blizzard warning
for the New York metropolitan area, all of Connecticut, all of Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts,
as well as southeast New Hampshire and coastal Maine. On February 8, blizzard warnings were
expanded to include inland portions of southeast New Hampshire, and inland portions of Maine's
coastal counties. By February 8, storm warnings and hurricane force wind warnings were in effect for
the New England and Mid Atlantic waters, in addition to coastal flood warnings.
In Chicago, officials deployed 199 snow trucks, and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority sent
182 plows for its road system. In the northeast United States, the storm threatened beaches and dunes
in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy from the previous October.[56] Due to the storm's threat, airlines
canceled more than 2,700 flights, mostly for February 8. In New York, officials readied snow removal
crews,] with more than 250,000 tons of salt prepared. Schools were closed in Hartford, Connecticut and
Providence, Rhode Island, among other cities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2013_nor%27easter
This blizzard rated 3 out of 5 on the Regional Snowfall Index (RSI) scale according to preliminary
observations through 7:00 AM Sunday, February 10. While the area impacted by this storm was less
than many other major storms, the heaviest snowfall landed in more densely populated areas, making it
a “major “storm in the RSI categories. Over 49,000 people across 192 square miles saw 30 inches of
snow or more as a result of this storm.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/snow-and-ice/rsi/societal-impacts
For blizzards like this, I have seen snow up to 55 dBZ. It’s not really “snow” so much as it is heavily
rimed snow in a convective environment, which this event also had I have heard. I got a report from
Long Island that they had thunder and 2-3 hours of heavy sleet, which kept the totals in check.
http://cimmse.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/08-09-feburary-2013-blizzard-dual-pol-imagery/
(Courtesy of M. Gross)
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0123
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1150 AM CST FRI FEB 08 2013
AREAS AFFECTED...NRN NJ...SERN NY THROUGH SRN NEW ENGLAND
CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW
VALID 081750Z - 082145Z
SUMMARY...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND NWD FROM NRN NJ AND SERN NY
THROUGH SRN NEW ENGLAND. SNOWFALL INTENSITY WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE
THROUGH THE DAY WITH RATES APPROACHING 1 INCH PER HOUR BY LATE
AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. HEAVIEST RATES /2+ INCH PER HOUR/ ARE
EXPECTED TO EVOLVE DURING THE EVENING.
DISCUSSION...EARLY THIS AFTERNOON A DEEP SURFACE LOW WAS LOCATED
JUST OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING EWD FROM
THE LOW INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE HAS
DEVELOPED IN ASSOCIATION WITH A VORT MAX NEAR THE CNTRL VA COAST AND
WITHIN A COUPLED UPPER JET STRUCTURE. AN EXPANSIVE AREA OF
PRECIPITATION IS IN PROGRESS FROM NJ INTO SRN NEW ENGLAND WITHIN
ZONE OF ISENTROPIC ASCENT NORTH OF WARM FRONT. SNOW RATES WITHIN
THIS AREA SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN AOB 0.5 INCH PER HOUR THROUGH MID
AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF RAIN OVER LONG ISLAND
SHOULD TRANSITION TO SNOW DURING THE EVENING AS THE WARM NOSE AOB
850 MB BEGINS TO COOL WITH THE ONSET OF COLD ADVECTION NW OF THE LOW
CENTER.
LATEST OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS INDICATES A ZONE OF STRONG 850-700 MB
FRONTOGENETIC FORCING WITHIN DEFORMATION AXIS JUST NE OF THE LOW
CENTER OFF THE SRN NJ COAST. THIS ZONE OF STRONG FORCING AND MID
LEVEL ASCENT WILL DEVELOP NWD THROUGH TODAY AS THE LEAD IMPULSE
INTERACTS WITH UPSTREAM TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES AND EJECTS
TOWARD SRN NEW ENGLAND. THEREFORE...SNOWFALL RATES WILL UNDERGO A
SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE FROM NRN NJ INTO SRN NEW ENGLAND BY EARLY
EVENING AS ZONE OF ASCENT DEVELOPS NWD AND DEEPENS THROUGH THE
DENDRITIC GROWTH LAYER. THE SNOW SHOULD EVENTUALLY DEVELOP BANDED
STRUCTURES THIS EVENING WITHIN THE NWD DEVELOPING FRONTOGENETIC
ZONE...AND THERE IS ALSO SOME INDICATION THAT THERE COULD BE SOME
SLANTWISE CONVECTIVE ENHANCEMENT WITHIN THE BANDS.
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0124
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0351 PM CST FRI FEB 08 2013
AREAS AFFECTED...SRN NEW ENGLAND...LONG ISLAND AND SRN NY...FAR NERN
NJ
CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW
VALID 082151Z - 090145Z
SUMMARY...SNOWFALL RATES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE MARKEDLY THIS
EVENING ...WITH RATES OF 1-2 INCHES PER HR OVER SRN NY/NERN NJ...TO
2-3 INCHES ACROSS SRN NEW ENGLAND. ADDITIONALLY...STRENGTHENING
WINDS MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY NEAR
THE COAST.
DISCUSSION...SFC OBS FROM 21Z CONTINUE TO REFLECT A RAPIDLY
DEEPENING OFFSHORE CYCLONE...WITH PRESSURE FALLS OF 3-4 MB/HR
OBSERVED. RADAR REFLECTIVITY MOSAIC SHOWS HIGHER PRECIPITATION RATES
ARE BEGINNING TO SPREAD INLAND ACROSS LONG ISLAND AND TOWARDS RI/SRN
MA/SRN CT. HOWEVER...SOME BRIGHT-BAND ENHANCEMENT MAY BE OCCURRING
AS MIXED P-TYPE OF RAIN AND/OR SNOW IS PREDOMINANT ACROSS LONG
ISLAND...WHERE SFC TEMPERATURES ARE CURRENTLY RANGING FROM 33-35 F.
INITIALLY...NEAR- OR ABOVE-FREEZING TEMPERATURES MAY SUPPRESS RATES
IMMEDIATELY ALONG THE COAST...BUT WITH LOW-LEVEL COLD ADVECTION
INCREASING AS THE CYCLONE TRACKS N-NE...A CHANGEOVER TO
PREDOMINANTLY SNOW IS EXPECTED WITHIN THE NEXT 2-3 HRS ACROSS MOST
OF THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA.
SNOWFALL RATES WILL BE INCREASING IN CONCERT WITH INTENSE ISENTROPIC
LIFT AND LOW-LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS WITHIN A DEFORMATION ZONE.
ADDITIONALLY...AN UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE UPPER TROUGH /LOCATED OVER THE
UPPER OH VALLEY PER 2130Z WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/ IS FORECAST TO PHASE
WITH THE OFFSHORE DEEP-LAYER CYCLONE. AS THIS OCCURS...THE
COMBINATION OF STRONG MIDLEVEL HEIGHT FALLS AND UPPER DIVERGENCE
WITHIN A COUPLED UPPER JET STRUCTURE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING
DEEP-LAYER ASCENT. FORECAST MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW A NEARLY SATURATED
COLUMN WITH A DEEP ISOTHERMAL LAYER LOCATED BENEATH THE DENDRITIC
GROWTH ZONE. THESE FACTORS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR EXTREMELY HIGH
SNOWFALL RATES...ESPECIALLY FROM ERN LONG ISLAND INTO SRN NEW
ENGLAND...INCLUDING THE BOSTON METRO AREA...AS SUPPORTED BY THE
RECENT SUITE OF HIGH-RESOLUTION NUMERICAL GUIDANCE.
..ROGERS.. 02/08/2013
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0125
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0651 PM CST FRI FEB 08 2013
AREAS AFFECTED...ERN NY
CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW
VALID 090051Z - 090345Z
SUMMARY...SNOWFALL RATES OF AT LEAST 1" PER HOUR WILL OCCUR IN A N-S
BAND ACROSS ERN NY W OF THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY OVER PARTS OF THE
ADIRONDACKS AND CATSKILLS OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
DISCUSSION...AN UPPER TROUGH CROSSING THE LOWER GREAT LAKES REGION
CONTINUES IMPINGING ON -- AND WILL EVENTUALLY MERGE WITH -- THE
LARGER LOW SE OF LONG ISLAND. AS THIS OCCURS...TWO
ASSOCIATED/FORMERLY DISTINCT AREAS OF SNOW CONTINUE TO MERGE INTO
ONE LARGER PRECIPITATION SHIELD. LATEST RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS AN
EMBEDDED HEAVIER BAND OF SNOW ORGANIZING OVER PARTS OF THE
ADIRONDACK AND CATSKILL MOUNTAINS...JUST W OF THE HUDSON VALLEY -WITH THE MOST INTENSE SNOWFALL INDICATED JUST W AND NW OF ALBANY.
WITH LARGE-SCALE ASCENT CONCENTRATED ACROSS THIS ZONE...HEAVY SNOW
CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS -- SOMEWHAT SEPARATE FROM
THE HEAVY SNOW BAND WHICH CONTINUES TO EVOLVE OVER SRN NEW ENGLAND.
..GOSS.. 02/09/2013
SUMMARY…A NOR’EASTER RESULTING IN A BLIZZARD WILL AFFECT MUCH OF
COASTAL NEW ENGLAND AND FEATURE SNOWFALL RATES 1-4 INCHES PER
HOUR…WIND GUSTS 35-65 MPH…AND VISIBILITIES LESS THAN 1/4 MI.
DISCUSSION…A RAPIDLY DEEPENING SURFACE LOW /ESTIMATED AROUND 983
MB/ 165 MI SSE BID WILL CONTINUE NNEWD THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.
THIS IS OCCURRING DUE TO VERY STRONG LARGE SCALE ASCENT OVER THE
REGION IN CONJUNCTION WITH PHASING MID TROPOSPHERIC TROUGHS AND
COUPLING UPPER SPEED MAXIMA ALONG THE ERN SEABOARD. 01Z SURFACE
STATIONS OVER SRN NEW ENGLAND NEAR THE COAST HAVE BEEN OBSERVING
FREQUENT GUSTS 50-65 MPH AS THE LOW LEVEL PRESSURE GRADIENT
INTENSIFIES IN RESPONSE TO THE APPROACHING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE.
STRONG TO SEVERE WIND GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONCURRENTLY EXPAND NWD
AND IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE LATE EVENING HOURS.
ENSEMBLE MODEL GUIDANCE INCLUDING BOTH SREF AND SPC SSEO /CONVECTION
ALLOWING MODEL ENSEMBLE/ INDICATE THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST SNOW WILL
PIVOT ACROSS SRN NEW ENGLAND AND ALIGN FROM ERN MA NWD ALONG THE
MAINE COAST BY THE 08-09Z PERIOD. SPORADIC LIGHTNING HAS BEEN
DETECTED OVER LONG ISLAND DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS AND HAS
COINCIDED WITH HEAVY PRECIPITATION RATES. CONVECTIVE BURSTS IN THE
HEAVIEST BANDING OF SNOW WILL SUPPORT SNOWFALL RATES 2-4 INCHES PER
HOUR…WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR OCCASIONAL ISOLD THUNDERSNOW INVOF
THE COAST.”
http://www.nycareaweather.com/2013/02/feb-8-9-2013-blizzard-summary/
Flooding:
At 12:20 p.m. the intersection of Front Street and First Parish Road near Scituate Harbor
was flooded. There was a "road closed" sign on nearby Edward Foster Road, but some drivers were
ignoring the sign and driving through the icy water.
Some back yards were flooded on Jericho Road in Scituate, but residents said the flooding hasn't been
too bad and that the worst of it is likely over.
"“This isn’t as bad as last year so if it stays like this, it’ll be all right,” resident Bob Mahoney said.
The storm flooded Oceanside Drive and perpendicular streets. On Sixth Avenue, the water reached the
foundations of homes and into garages that had been left open. Many residents had moved their cars to
higher ground ahead of the high tide.
Brothers Devin and Conor McMahon were surveying the damage. They said they used to live on
Oceanside between Fifth and Sixth avenues, but have sinced moved to Barker Road "a nice hill."
“This brings back a lot of memories,” Conor McMahon said. “This is pretty much like the storms of our
childhood.”
Central Avenue, Oceanside Drive and Jericho Road were also briefly closed during the midnight Thursday
high tide.
In Marshfield, Jennifer Rooney said her family was hunkered down in their Foster Avenue cottage
watching the waves crashing over the sea wall and into her yard Friday afternoon.
"It's just getting worse," she said. "Supposedly, the tide should be receding, but the waves are still
crashing over the wall."
Still, Rooney said there hasn't been any major damage to the nearby homes and that residents are
prepared to ride out the storm.
Below are suggested media totals for the storm as well as the 7pm totals for Sat Feb. 9 2013. Many
media outlets had similar images to the displays depicted actual totals were significantly higher due to
intense mesoscale banding that was not easy to forecast early on.
(Courtesy of Accuweather)
Hamden, CT: Saturday February 9, 2013. Residents begin to dig out from 40” of snow
Stranded vehicles left on Long Island were a common scene during the Blizzard of 2013. This was the
result due to the storm starting off intense on Friday February 7th, much earlier than officials warned
their residents. News12 was forecasting 8-16” the day of the event. The media quickly pointed a
finger towards the politicians for not being able to perform at a high enough level to get the roads
cleared.
Comparison to the Blizzard of March 11-14, 1888
FEBRUARY 7-8TH BLIZZARD 2013
There were many ways this storm was similar to the great Blizzard of March 1888. Both storms formed
from similar synoptic situations; low pressure system/trough arriving from the west combined with low
pressure center developing of the mid-Atlantic coast and then ‘bombing’ explosively south of Long
Island and slowly tracking off to the northeast. The big difference between the blizzard of 1888 and
Nemo was the location of where the ‘bombogenesis’ took place. In 1888 the storm center ‘bombed’
about 100 miles further to the southeast than where Nemo did such. Also, the 1888 storm actually
made a small loop south of Long Island, unlike Nemo. This resulted in a mostly rain event for eastern
Massachusetts (Boston just had 7” of slushy snow) and Maine in 1888 with the core of the heaviest
snow falling from New York City north to Albany and east though western Massachusetts, Vermont, and
Connecticut. So, amazing as Nemo was for the residents of Connecticut, the Blizzard of 1888 was more
severe in terms of snowfall accumulations and blizzard conditions
It seems the highest snowfall report in Connecticut from Nemo has been 40” at Hamden. In 1888 the
peak total was 50” at Middleton. Hartford received 36” during the Blizzard of 1888 (although the
‘official’ total was much lower since the observation site at that time was on a hill and the snow was
mostly blown clear from the location). New Haven picked up 44.7” in 1888 versus 34” from Nemo. An
interesting aside, is the intensity of the snowfall rates reached during Nemo’s peak. A public report
mentions an astonishing 12” of snow fell in one 90-minute period at Coventry, Connecticut Friday night.
NEW HAVEN CLAIMS NEMO HAS NOTHING ON 1888!
“The department of the public works have over 100 teams at work removing snow from the streets today. ... To-day the teams are at work in Chapel and Church streets. The city is paying $5 per day for
double teams and $3 for single teams.”
That’s the latest storm update—from Friday March 16, 1888.The news appeared on the front page of
The New Haven Evening Register, four days after the beginning of the Great Blizzard of 1888.
That blizzard dumped 45 inches of snow on the city, nearly a foot more than New Haven received last
weekend when Winter Storm Nemo roared through town, earning the title of biggest blizzard since
1888.
The Blizzard of 2013 caught no one except the most reclusive by surprise. From WICC to “Good Morning
America” to every cable news and weather station, the word of a potential blizzard lit up the airways.
Given the accuracy predicting Superstorm Sandy and other recent storms, people were far less skeptical
about the dire forecast.
Indeed, starting on Friday afternoon, Feb. 8, much of Connecticut got more that 3 feet of snow with
wind gusts exceeding 75 mph.
With the bulk of the storm occurring on Saturday, far fewer people ventured out during the storm,
making it feasible to rescue those who did get stuck. Most importantly for those of us in Shelton, few
people lost electric power — something that was not yet available in 1888.
Virtually nobody died as a direct result of the Blizzard of 2013, although in Shelton and elsewhere
people died due to medical issues exacerbated by the snow, ice, cold and wind.
http://sheltonherald.com/12636/comparing-blizzards-storm-impacts-evolve-over-time/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/blizzard_of_88/
Conclusion It can probably be said that winter storm Nemo was the 2nd most intense winter storm
event for Long Island, Connecticut, eastern Massachusetts, and perhaps Rhode Island. For Long Island,
and Connecticut the Blizzard of 1888 remains unparalleled whereas for Rhode Island and eastern
Massachusetts the Blizzard of 1978 remains the top event. For southeastern Maine it would appear that
Nemo has been the most extreme snowstorm on record. Of course, this is a broad statement and for
some localities in Connecticut and Massachusetts Nemo may have been even worse than the storms of
1888 and 1978 and for other localities in the region other major snowstorms may have been worse than
any one of the three.
I might add that it is a bit unsettling that two of the most significant storms in the past 300 years to
strike the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. have occurred within just four months from one another.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/winter-storm-nemo-a-historical-perspective
The Blizzard of 2013 will most certainly be a standout storm for many years to come. The setup and
development of the storm was nearly textbook-like, with the phasing of two systems and cold-air
damming established with an Arctic high over Québec. Like many big Northeast snowstorms, this storm
was also well forecasted, and public preparedness and awareness was notably high in the days leading
up to the storm. This latter aspect was a huge factor in limiting injuries and casualties throughout the
region.
I have included selected photos of the storm from various sources. While meteorologists (myself
included) will marvel at the size of the storm, its evolution and development, and the accuracy of the
forecasts, oftentimes photographs are the most powerful element for conveying the sheer
awesomeness of an historic event like the Blizzard of 2013.
https://www.aer.com/science-research/climate-weather/climate-dynamics/blizzard-2013
News and Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=849268fo-3I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olrV9UDHYsI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGhKYblv5T0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaS_WkYPGZY