Once in a life time storms that I will never see again in my lifetime

[Chris L]

If you could track any of these storms again, which would be on the list that Ji posted? I would vote for the Blizzard of '96, just coming up the coast..... The I-95 NESIS 5.

[ravensrule]

Fuzz, I doubt you will ever be able to afford a house here but maybe some day you can move to Dundalk and live alone in a small studio apartment near the train tracks.

.

[Fozz]

.

There's nothing funny about a dumb (and imaginary) superiority complex.

[ravensrule]

There's nothing funny about a dumb (and imaginary) superiority complex.

Fozz as much as i love you i would not think it was funny if someone half my age and with no life experience made fun of where i lived.

[ORH_wxman]

If you could track any of these storms again, which would be on the list that Ji posted?

I obviously don't live down there, but I think Feb 5-6 would have been fun if I was down there...because it was seen from so far out on most guidance. I remember thinking it was pretty obvious DC/BWI would get smoked at 5 days out...and thats hard to pull off. The funnest storms always seem to be the "we are going to get crushed, but is it 12" or 25" or 30"?" type storms. You aren't having a heart attack over the rain/snow line.

[Chris L]

I obviously don't live down there, but I think Feb 5-6 would have been fun if I was down there...because it was seen from so far out on most guidance. I remember thinking it was pretty obvious DC/BWI would get smoked at 5 days out...and thats hard to pull off. The funnest storms always seem to be the "we are going to get crushed, but is it 12" or 25" or 30"?" type storms. You aren't having a heart attack over the rain/snow line.

That is true Will. I agree.

But for you in SNE, it's gotta be the '78 Blizzard or the '69 storm.

[Sparky]

I think Feb 2003 might always be among my favorites. I 'only' got about 17" at school in CT but it was a pretty epic storm nonetheless. I started UConnWeather.com (which is actually still live lol) during that one and remember wandering campus through drifts to paste little signs I made on the doors etc. I was always a dork...

Other than that, I saw some great storms in CT but nothing really topped what we had here last yr. 02-03 was more epic at my location where we easily topped 100" (though I was at school for a good portion), but last yr will be one I remember more fondly until it is (if while im alive) topped.

Nothing beats what I saw in the mtns of CA but that is cheating I guess.

Jan 96 is still the champ with me in my 17 years in Westminster. Before that when I lived in Baltimore Feb. 83 was champ. I know this goes against the grain but I found the Feb 2003 storm to be rather boring. Impressive for snow depth but boring for snow rates and no wind.

[Chris L]

Jan 96 is still the champ with me in my 17 years in Westminster. Before that when I lived in Baltimore Feb. 83 was champ. I know this goes against the grain but I found the Feb 2003 storm to be rather boring. Impressive for snow depth but boring for snow rates and no wind.

Even over February 10th, which i know simply pounded Northern Maryland with 2 feet of snow ontop of 2 feet from February 5-6th!

How much did you get from Jan '96? 35 inches or so?

[Fozz]

Fozz as much as i love you i would not think it was funny if someone half my age and with no life experience made fun of where i lived.

It wasn't directed at him.

[bubba hotep]

i have had 7 of them

Feb 79

Feb 83

Mar 93

Jan 96

Feb 2003

Dec 2009

Feb 2010

I got incredibly lucky seeing how I was in DC for Feb 2003 and then left for work. Then work brought me back and I extended my stay for one year and caught Dec 2009 and Feb 2010. I'll be gone for 4 years, so based on my luck the next really big storm will be Feb 2015.

[ORH_wxman]

That is true Will. I agree.

But for you in SNE, it's gotta be the '78 Blizzard or the '69 storm.

Well I wasn't alive during those storms.

The Feb 5-6 storm last year for the M.A. was trackable for huge snow longer than any of our big ones in recent years...Jan 2005 sort of didn't start smoking us until about 2-3 days out and Jan 12 this year was questionable if it would be HECS until after the storm was underway (though it looked like at least a MECS for days). PDII was trackable for M.A. again many days out but it didn't start encroaching upon SNE until about 2-3 days out like '05. Ditto April '97.

[Sparky]

Even over February 10th, which i know simply pounded Northern Maryland with 2 feet of snow ontop of 2 feet from February 5-6th!

How much did you get from Jan '96? 35 inches or so?

Jan 96 had higher winds for a longer stretch and bigger drifts. I had slightly more snow of 30 inches vs. the Feb 9/10 storm which was about 27". But the main thing was the stronger winds and colder cold in Jan 96.

But the cumulative effect of the two Feb storms cannot be topped.

[Sparky]

Well I wasn't alive during those storms.

The Feb 5-6 storm last year for the M.A. was trackable for huge snow longer than any of our big ones in recent years...Jan 2005 sort of didn't start smoking us until about 2-3 days out and Jan 12 this year was questionable if it would be HECS until after the storm was underway (though it looked like at least a MECS for days). PDII was trackable for M.A. again many days out but it didn't start encroaching upon SNE until about 2-3 days out like '05. Ditto April '97.

I am sure you would have loved Feb 78. I loved that storm and I was in Baltimore and only got 12 inches. It was the combination of intensity and wind again that made it so memorable. It snowed hard for about 5/6 hours. Temps in the low 20s too

[ravensrule]

It wasn't directed at him.

Well he lives in the eastern suburbs so i am not sure how else he could have taken it.

[JeanineJ]

two that really sick out in my mind was when I was 9--- that amazing amazing snow fall that had schools canceled a week (1979).... that started my love affair with storms. I was always fascinated with weather....clouds, winds, lightning, hurricanes, twisters, waves, fog, I love it all. But that snow storm left memories I cherish to this day. It's like a friend I wait to see each year. I remember it covered the top of our metal gates in Dundalk. I made tunnels and forts and stayed outside in that wicked wind for hours and it didn't bother me a bit.

Then when we had that storm in 03, it just kept coming and coming. I watched how those bands just were rolling off the Atlantic and over my house on the radar. It was really exciting. A cab got stuck at the bottom of our hill, an hour later a plow came by and piled some snow up on it, anther plow came by and pushed the cab and snow off the road, and no one knew there was a cab under there until it thawed.

I wonder if there is a place where I could go back and look at loops for those storms?

[Fozz]

two that really sick out in my mind was when I was 9--- that amazing amazing snow fall that had schools canceled a week (1979).... that started my love affair with storms. I was always fascinated with weather....clouds, winds, lightning, hurricanes, twisters, waves, fog, I love it all. But that snow storm left memories I cherish to this day. It's like a friend I wait to see each year. I remember it covered the top of our metal gates in Dundalk. I made tunnels and forts and stayed outside in that wicked wind for hours and it didn't bother me a bit.

Then when we had that storm in 03, it just kept coming and coming. I watched how those bands just were rolling off the Atlantic and over my house on the radar. It was really exciting. A cab got stuck at the bottom of our hill, an hour later a plow came by and piled some snow up on it, anther plow came by and pushed the cab and snow off the road, and no one knew there was a cab under there until it thawed.

I wonder if there is a place where I could go back and look at loops for those storms?

This is the only place I can find.

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/current/mcview.phtml?prod=usrad&java=script&mode=archive&frames=70&interval=30&year=2003&month=2&day=6&hour=12&minute=0

[JeanineJ]

Thank you -I love it! that is pretty cool

This is the only place I can find.

http://mesonet.agron...our=12&minute=0

[North Balti Zen]

I was a kid in Ohio during the Cleveland Superbomb of 1978.

http://www.weather.c...er/8_14650.html

and

http://en.wikipedia....lizzard_of_1978

and

http://www.ohiohisto...78_blizzard.htm

and one more

http://dept.kent.edu...f_78_shmid.html

I lived in Cincinnati at the time, which was spared the very worst of it, but even on the edge, my memory is our temps were near 70 ahead of the event, and below zero after, with winds that were easily 50 mph plus during the storm itself as the snow fell. Rain changed to a driving blinding powdery snow during the event. Not as much snow fell at my house as other places just to the north, but what did fall drifted 3-5 feet around my house. With apologies to our storms last year, I have still not ever seen anything quite like it.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Just offhand storms I've personally experienced...

From when I was living in northeast OH (Cleveland area):

26-27 January, 1978 (this blizzard still stands as "the" storm in my book, a 957mb bomb that went through the state)

5-6 April 1982

27-29 February 1984

13 March 1993 (yes, eastern OH actually had blizzard conditions and a foot of snow from that!)

Since moving here to the DC area:

15-17 February 2003

18-19 December 2009

5-6 February 2010

9-10 February 2010

There were some other good storms in northeast OH during times that I wasn't actually living there, too...such as 30-31 March 1987, December 2004(?), Valentine's Day storm 2007, March 2008.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I was a kid in Ohio during the Cleveland Superbomb of 1978.

I lived in Cincinnati at the time, which was spared the very worst of it, but even on the edge, my memory is our temps were near 70 ahead of the event, and below zero after, with winds that were easily 50 mph plus during the storm itself as the snow fell. Rain changed to a driving blinding powdery snow during the event. Not as much snow fell at my house as other places just to the north, but what did fall drifted 3-5 feet around my house. With apologies to our storms last year, I have still not ever seen anything quite like it.

Funny, I mentioned the same exact storm, I was growing up in Cleveland at the time. Have to say, I agree with your assessment. The storms last year were spectacular...and I experienced about the most amazing 12-day period of winter in my life, at least in terms of amount of snow and number of storms. But yes, the monster of 26-27 January 1978 is still the top storm in my book in terms of sheer impact and how dangerous it was (I mean, truly dangerous!). Cleveland and northeast Ohio didn't get a huge amount of snow from it, I think 6-12" in general across the area (think places in northwest/west-central OH, IN, IL, MI got a fair bit more). But temperatures falling from the mid-40s to around 10 within the space of a couple of hours, wind gusts pushing 100MPH (really!) and sustained at 40+, complete whiteout conditions, drifts tens of feet high, and just the fact that a 957mb (28.28"!!) bomb went right over Cleveland...that was breathtaking and scary.

I remember waking up sometime well before dawn, looked outside and it was raining, with winds gusting hard. Saw a streetlight nearby swaying back and forth. I then woke up a little later, looked again, and it was just completely white...couldn't see a thing. The evening before, watching the news, they had winter storm watches/warnings up (those were later upped to blizzard) and it felt kind of odd because it was relatively warm out at the time (in the mid 30s) with drizzle the day right before. Then of course, all the school cancellations for the rest of the week came out (which is what we looked for as kids of course!!). Heck, the entire area was shut down and it was literally too dangerous to even go outside for a few minutes. I read later on that the Ohio Turnpike was closed for its entire length for the first...and I believe still only...time ever.

[EastCoast NPZ]

This is the easiest question I've ever answered:

1. Jan 1996

2. Feb 1983

3. Oct 1979

1. Hands down, the biggest snowfall in my lifetime, a 36+ hour storm with temps in the low 20's, and very cold conditions which would last a full week afterwards. I lived in Front Royal (in town, not the county high spots) and measured 37". The early Jan low sun angle meant almost no melting for more than a week. Everything was brought to a stand still for at least a week. I remember going with my friends sledding nearly every night that next week, pulled behind my friends pickup truck along the country roads. Stupid, yes. Fun for a bunch of early 20's boys, hell yeah. It was surreal to be sledding on county highways at night. The plowed-snow made enormous banks which made it feel like a bob-sled track. We could go entire nights w/o encountering any cars - on RT 522 S in Warren / Rappahonock counties. Unreal. I'm confident in saying I will never see anything like that again in my lifetime. Even last Feb pales in comparison.

2. The second-biggest snow in my lifetime. I lived out in Warren County, and measured 32". I remember that storm, not for it's duration - it lasted only about 20 hours, but for the incredible snow rates. I remember being outside and it literally poured snow. The temps were in the low teens and the flakes were hollow column-type crystals. It was also the first time, I believe, in my life to that point where I experienced thunder-snow. I was in 7th grade and we were out of school for more than a week.

3. The most bizarre storm. Sort of like the storm last weekend. I was young, and I don't recall a forecast of snow - no 24-hour weather news on the internet those days. Oct 10 was a mild day. That night I was awoken by a thunderstorm. Later on that night I was awoken by a loud thud, and my older brother running out of his bedroom screaming down the hallway. Turns out that a large tree limb had fallen on the house just atop his bedroom. When everyone got up to investigate we discoverd we were in the midst of heavy, heavy snowfall. It made last week's storm look like a flizzard. Apparently, that night I'd seen my first thundersnow, I just didn't know it. I had assumed it was rain. The snow stopped by morning. I don't know when it began, but we got 14" of the heaviest, wettest snow imaginable. Trees were still packed with leaves, and it was utter carnage. Trees spread everywhere on the ground. It looked like a tornado had gone through. We lost power for more than a week, and we all went and stayed with relatives until we got it back (no power, no well pump, no water - and no heat). First though, we had to chainsaw 4 or 5 trees that had fallen across our driveway and taken out the power lines. I still vividly recall walking outside that morning and hearing the unnerving explosions of tree limbs and trunks in the woods that surrounded our house. It sounded like gun-shots. That was just amazing. I wish I had photos of that event.

I like this thread, and hearing other people's recollection of these great storms in our past.

What a difference a year makes.

[Harv_poor]

I saw nobody mention March 1962. Or are all of you too young or maybe not a big item in the DC area? I lived in central NJ then and I remember part of the Atlantic City boardwalk and a pier being destroyed. I also thought parts of Va had their all time record snowfall. Maybe that was back in the mountains west of Charlottesville?

[thesnowsknows]

1. Snowmageddon/snopocalypse/snoverkill:

Ok, yeah, those are three separate storms, but I don't care. I'm 22 years old and I don't think I will ever see a wineter like last year again, not even if I live in areas that are known for snow in the northeast. Snowpocalypse dropped about 22 inches where I was, 34 for snowmageddon, and about 16 for snoverkill.

Dec 19th was a fairly normal huge storm (if you can say that for a 20plus incher). Miller A with standard inch an hour rates and powdery snow. But then snowmageddon comes and 34 inches of gulf laden snow just absolutely purs from the sky in less than a 24 hour time frame. '96 was impressive, but in my area at least 96 paled in comparison to snowmageddon. Then snoverkill. Despite its lower accums it was possibly the most interesting of the three. A Miller B that bombed out and retorograded right over my area, stalling out and giving blizzard conditions. By the time that storm was over we had snow up to my chest, literally. I will never see anything like that again.

2. President's Day II

I was in 9th grade when this hit and I had never seen anything like it. It was my first exposure to consisten 2 inch/hour rates at a significantly sustained tyime period. And the radar, my god. Verry similar to snowmageddon in the sense that the first low that came through was so supressed that it couldnt

even move through the area. Moisture just streamed like a gun barrel through central maryland. I was so excited. Then the ULL came through and just doused the rest of the northeast. Unbelieveable.

3. January 96

This was an incredible storm. I think we got about 25 inches where I lived. If not for it's heavy accum, the sustained consistency of this storm. I mean there was a friggin dry slot for jeez's sakes and we still picked up 25 inches. This was the first blizzard I could remember (I was 5 during the 93 superstorm) and it was pretty epic. Great fun to be a part of and of course to get off of school.

4. January 25th, 2000

This wasn't the biggest storm ever but we did pick up about 18 inches in my area. What really hits home for me on this one is the surprise factor. We were supposed to get a T-2 inches with a more OTS solution and it wasn't modeled until literally the night before that the storm would take a westward shift and absolutely pound the coast. LIterally one of the best days of my life. You don't get that much these days with the quality of forecasting.

[snowfan]

January 96 was something special. I was living in Stewartstown, PA at the time. We were obliterated. It took days for Rte 851 to be opened up. When it finally opened, it was like driving through a tunnel from Stewartstown to Shrewsbury.

February 03 was also a very good storm as well as February 10. That said, in my personal opinion, neither really compares to January 96.

Here's a link to a good summary map for that storm:

http://richmondcitywatch.com/rvawx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Blizzard_of_1996_Jan7b-96.jpg

and Radar:

http://richmondcitywatch.com/rvawx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/NationalRadar-0900Z-07Jan96.gif

[usedtobe]

To be fair, areas outside of BWI have more 20 inchers as well.

I received three 20"+ inch storms last winter, IIRC.

I had 22.5 with the feb storm and only measured at the end of the stomr so I'm sure if I had measured every 6 hours my totals would have been several inches more and I live east of DC.. That's why the DCA measurements are so frustrating. The feb storm probably second to only the Knickerbocker storm. Of course in 1979 I measured 24 inches on my driveway and only measure once. I had 19.5 to 20 during the dec storm. The 1979 storm had by far the most intense precipitation rates.

[Fozz]

I am slightly frustrated that I missed out on the heaviest bands of Snowmageddon that enabled Howard county to get close to 3 feet of snow. It was a nice HECS and I should not be complaining, but having 25", it didn't quite feel like the Biggest Snowstorm Ever, like it was from Howard county to Leesburg and IAD.

On the other hand, the second blizzard put my area right near the bullseye and seeing 20" of snow fall on top of what already fell during the weekend made it a spectacular and stunning event, something I'll probably never see again.

[Fozz]

[RIC Airport]

Feb 79 is getting to the point where it is being forgotten or just not remembered. I have seen and remember all of them. The fact is it is in a class by itself. Would be curious to see if anyone else agrees. Temps in the teens. Many ups and downs. But that Monday morning before the storm wound down gave us snow rates I have never seen since. Feb 83 wasn't bad nor was Feb 2010. I just wish 93 could have been all snow. That may have given it a run. But PD I is King.

PDI had hourly liquid totals of up to 0.35" at BWI, probably with good ratios since temps were in the mid 20s.

I think people should really go back and look at the historical hourly observations for PDI. Clearly, it's a rare breed due to the fact that the official temperature at Richmond ranged from 9°F to 10°F from 1pm to 7pm, during the height of the event on the 18th. The daily low of 6°F occurred just before the snow began, while the high of 14°F occurred during the late evening hours toward midnight of the 19th. This is the coldest snowstorm I can find for Richmond, probably rivaling February 1899.

Anyway, February 1983 still stands out for Richmond with 18" falling officially.

[weatherboss]

Still waiting for a 40+"er. Now that's a once in a lifetime storm.

My all time favorite is actually the second Feb blizzard last year, rather than the first.

I think that may be my all time favorite as well. Usually during our "blizzards" the blizzard-caliber winds come after the storm. With the Feb.10th storm, they were actually during the storm. Loved it.

[Sparky]

In my rather long memory the coldest of the best storms I have witnessed are as follows:

1. Jan 66 blizzard in Baltimore. Temps somewhere between 0 and 5

2. Feb 2003 in Westminster. Temps around 10-14 through the meat of the storm.

3. Blizz of 96 in Westminster. Temps in the low/mid teens for a good chunk of the storm. Rising towards the end.

4. PD1 1979 in Baltimore. Temps mainly in the high teens rising overnight to the low 20s as the heaviest stuff moved in.

The warmest of the biggie storms in my lifetime has to be the Feb 87 super wet snow dump of 15 inches in 9 hours with temps around 31-33 at Baltimore.