NJwinter23 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Do you have hourly snow reports from both storms? I do but It's all from NCDC and I can't copy the files onto here. I will clarify that LGA did not technically meet blizzard conditions on 12/26-27. They reported +SN from 3pm-8pm, but didnt start gusting over 35 mph until 6pm. They went back to reporting moderate SN from there on out, but maintained 1/4 mile visibility and had winds frequently gust near 50 mph for the next several hours. Conditions at JFK were extremely severe. Blizzard conditions kicked in around 4PM on the 26th with 40-50 mph wind gusts from 6pm-9pm. From 9PM-midnight, winds were sustained 40-45 mph and frequently gusted 50-60 mph including a peak gust to 59 mph. This also coincided with moderate SN FZFG BLSN obs and visibility reported at 0.00 or 0.12 mile. There was enough +SN from 3-8PM with the 35-50 mph winds though that I believe a true blizzard by the definition was met. 40-50 mph wind gusts continued with moderate snow through 3am. I agree that a downfall of wind is that it messes up measuring, but my god, winds like this in a snowstorm is an unbelievable sight and I wouldn't trade that in for anything. The winds recorded at kNYC were really pitiful, and blizzard conditions were not met. I'll conjure up some NJ obs too in a moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJwinter23 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 For NJ: At BLM where they don't report precip, a blizzard was met by wind and visibility for 6 straight hours from 4PM-10PM. I'm confident from the radar that +SN was occurring right through this period. Wind gusts frequently gusted 40-50 mph during this time period, relaxed to 30-40 mph after 10PM though +SN was still falling with 1/4 mile or less visibility for a few more hours. Ground blizzard conditions occurred the following day, with visibilities reported at 0.00 to 1/4 mile between 11am-12pm. At Newark, it was a blizzard from 4PM-pretty much 3AM with +SN, 1/16 - 1/4 mi visibility and winds often gusting 40-50 mph. There were a few missing precip/temp obs during the height of the storm, but we all know what was happening. At Teterboro the winds were weaker with gusts staying in the mid-upper 30s. They did have enough to meet blizzard criteria from 7-10 PM though with visibility at 0.00s. Great observation at 1840: +TSSN BLSN FZFG, Temp: 23º, Winds: 23, G 35, Vis: 0.00s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJwinter23 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Jan 2011 -- best two part storm I have ever seen, besting Dec 2003 here I would say that Dec. 2003 had a better front part of the storm, but Jan 2011 had the superior 2nd part. The first part of both storms was somewhat/big time surprise though. Dec. 2003 dumped 8" during the day of the 5th, then had about 5-6" on the backend for me (I may have not fully accounted for the compaction that occurred in between the 2 parts though.. I had about 12" on the ground at the end. Jan 2011 had about 4" on the front end, and it was a complete surprise of course. then the utter ridiculousness in part 2 that night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJO812 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I think one of these years we will get 50" plus of snow in a month.... so many close calls in Feb 2010 and places well to our south have already done it so we can too. It almost happened in Feb 2010. I received 40 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I do but It's all from NCDC and I can't copy the files onto here. I will clarify that LGA did not technically meet blizzard conditions on 12/26-27. They reported +SN from 3pm-8pm, but didnt start gusting over 35 mph until 6pm. They went back to reporting moderate SN from there on out, but maintained 1/4 mile visibility and had winds frequently gust near 50 mph for the next several hours. Conditions at JFK were extremely severe. Blizzard conditions kicked in around 4PM on the 26th with 40-50 mph wind gusts from 6pm-9pm. From 9PM-midnight, winds were sustained 40-45 mph and frequently gusted 50-60 mph including a peak gust to 59 mph. This also coincided with moderate SN FZFG BLSN obs and visibility reported at 0.00 or 0.12 mile. There was enough +SN from 3-8PM with the 35-50 mph winds though that I believe a true blizzard by the definition was met. 40-50 mph wind gusts continued with moderate snow through 3am. I agree that a downfall of wind is that it messes up measuring, but my god, winds like this in a snowstorm is an unbelievable sight and I wouldn't trade that in for anything. The winds recorded at kNYC were really pitiful, and blizzard conditions were not met. I'll conjure up some NJ obs too in a moment Agreed-- even though these conditions likely resulted in a huge mismeasurement of snow at the airport..... nothing new for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I would say that Dec. 2003 had a better front part of the storm, but Jan 2011 had the superior 2nd part. The first part of both storms was somewhat/big time surprise though. Dec. 2003 dumped 8" during the day of the 5th, then had about 5-6" on the backend for me (I may have not fully accounted for the compaction that occurred in between the 2 parts though.. I had about 12" on the ground at the end. Jan 2011 had about 4" on the front end, and it was a complete surprise of course. then the utter ridiculousness in part 2 that night Agreed-- the back part of Dec 2003 actually underperformed here, but maxed out over central Long Island where they got around 20" We were actually leading the pack after the first part of the storm had ended (probably because the mix line was about 5 miles south of here for the duration) and ended up picking up 8-9" in the first part but only 4-5" in the second part. Our amounts were very similar, I ended up with between 13-14" by the end of the storm. Farmingdale had close to 20" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormlover74 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yeah I remember actually a blizzard warning being issued for the 2nd round which never really got close to that bad....still over a foot of snow on the ground on December 6th is quite remarkable.... Agreed-- the back part of Dec 2003 actually underperformed here, but maxed out over central Long Island where they got around 20" We were actually leading the pack after the first part of the storm had ended (probably because the mix line was about 5 miles south of here for the duration) and ended up picking up 8-9" in the first part but only 4-5" in the second part. Our amounts were very similar, I ended up with between 13-14" by the end of the storm. Farmingdale had close to 20" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJwinter23 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Agreed-- the back part of Dec 2003 actually underperformed here, but maxed out over central Long Island where they got around 20" We were actually leading the pack after the first part of the storm had ended (probably because the mix line was about 5 miles south of here for the duration) and ended up picking up 8-9" in the first part but only 4-5" in the second part. Our amounts were very similar, I ended up with between 13-14" by the end of the storm. Farmingdale had close to 20" Yeah exactly the same, I just opened up the notebook and saw I recorded 13". We had a light freezing drizzle/wintry mix during some of the overnight period before the comma head formed, likely caused a good deal of compaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yeah exactly the same, I just opened up the notebook and saw I recorded 13". We had a light freezing drizzle/wintry mix during some of the overnight period before the comma head formed, likely caused a good deal of compaction. Anticipating something big for the second part of the storm and then having a let down was a amjor disappointment, although realistically, we can't really be expecting all that much in early December lol. The thing was the visibility was so low in the first part of the storm (one of our rare daytime snowstorms) that it made for a really picturesque postcard scene, and in the second part of the storm, the snowflakes weren't all that large and the visibility was much higher than I thought it would be. I think it was unusually cold in the second part of the storm-- upper teens overnight and into the next morning I think. The best snow actually fell when it was warmer and the snow was wetter in the first part of the storm and clumped more into these huge snowflakes that rapidly accumulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yeah I remember actually a blizzard warning being issued for the 2nd round which never really got close to that bad....still over a foot of snow on the ground on December 6th is quite remarkable.... Yeah, it was probably the biggest early December snowstorm since 1960.... it was one of JB's rare coups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I do but It's all from NCDC and I can't copy the files onto here. I will clarify that LGA did not technically meet blizzard conditions on 12/26-27. They reported +SN from 3pm-8pm, but didnt start gusting over 35 mph until 6pm. They went back to reporting moderate SN from there on out, but maintained 1/4 mile visibility and had winds frequently gust near 50 mph for the next several hours.Conditions at JFK were extremely severe. Blizzard conditions kicked in around 4PM on the 26th with 40-50 mph wind gusts from 6pm-9pm. From 9PM-midnight, winds were sustained 40-45 mph and frequently gusted 50-60 mph including a peak gust to 59 mph. This also coincided with moderate SN FZFG BLSN obs and visibility reported at 0.00 or 0.12 mile. There was enough +SN from 3-8PM with the 35-50 mph winds though that I believe a true blizzard by the definition was met. 40-50 mph wind gusts continued with moderate snow through 3am. I agree that a downfall of wind is that it messes up measuring, but my god, winds like this in a snowstorm is an unbelievable sight and I wouldn't trade that in for anything.I will never forget that period from 8PM to 1AM here in Rego Park Queens.The visibility was 0 with the winds and the falling snow.A neighbor of mine was in the Chicago Blizzard in Feb and said that the Boxing Day storm and the Chicago storm were nearly carbon copies of one another. I dont believe people here understand how infrequent GUSTS in the 40s during a snowfall is let alone SUSTAINED winds are.Whatever amount anybody got should not be downplayed.It does not matter if you had 14 inches or 22 like myself,or 33 like earthlight.The high winds are what made this storm memorable and always will.I truly doubt most of us will see a repeat of it in our lifetime. APRIL 6 1982,FEB 1983 and JAN 22 1987 still remains the champ with me for thundersnow though.APRIL 1982 and FEB 1983 for its frequent CTG strokes and JAN 1987 for the loudest thunder I ever heard in a snowstorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 DEC 2003 I got 9 inches in the front part and only another 2-3 inches on the second part.THe heaviest here was between 3-5PM on that Saturday.We were in subsidence here in Queens inbetween the 2 bands.Long Island got blasted though,I was amazed how much fell out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 DEC 25th 2002 is also in my top list.Went from an inch of rain in the Northern Bronx to nearly a foot in only a few hours.THe winds were memorable in that storm as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsentropicLift Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 In this order with the best at the top 1) Blizzard of 96 2) Boxing Day 2003 (too bad I was in FL but I came home to the piles. Was suppose to fly home the day of the storm) 3) Boxing Day Blizzard 4) 2/25 - 2/26 2010 (28.0" at West Milford) Widespread 1-2' totals 5) 2/5 -2/6 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Andrew, we supposedly had 22 inches here but it looked like a lot more than PD2, even though we got 28 inches in that blizzard. I heard parts of Suffolk County around Babylon and Bayshore got 29-32 inches from Jan 1996. We got into a bit of a dry slot on the second day of the storm and the sun even came out for a bit, or else we all would have gotten around 30 inches. Alex,the 22 inches I had was from the Boxing day storm.JAN 1996 I had 30+ inches.PD2 I had 16 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle W Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I liked the cold storms the best with no mixing with Feb. 61 as the exception...They may not have been blizzards but the temperatures were at least in the teens or low 20's during the height of the storm...The following are the storms that fit this category... February 1958... March 1960... December 1960... January 1961... January 1964... February 1967... February 1978... February 1983... January 1996... February 2003... January 2005... February 2006... December 2010... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I liked the cold storms the best with no mixing with Feb. 61 as the exception...They may not have been blizzards but the temperatures were at least in the teens or low 20's during the height of the storm...The following are the storms that fit this category... February 1958... March 1960... December 1960... January 1961... January 1964... February 1967... February 1978... February 1983... January 1996... February 2003... January 2005... February 2006... December 2010... 2/83 1/96 and 2/03 are my favorites too. Toss 4/82 in there also, it meets your qualifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allsnow Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Real nice work njwinter. Pretty much seals boxing day number 1 for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag3 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I do but It's all from NCDC and I can't copy the files onto here. I will clarify that LGA did not technically meet blizzard conditions on 12/26-27. They reported +SN from 3pm-8pm, but didnt start gusting over 35 mph until 6pm. They went back to reporting moderate SN from there on out, but maintained 1/4 mile visibility and had winds frequently gust near 50 mph for the next several hours. Conditions at JFK were extremely severe. Blizzard conditions kicked in around 4PM on the 26th with 40-50 mph wind gusts from 6pm-9pm. From 9PM-midnight, winds were sustained 40-45 mph and frequently gusted 50-60 mph including a peak gust to 59 mph. This also coincided with moderate SN FZFG BLSN obs and visibility reported at 0.00 or 0.12 mile. There was enough +SN from 3-8PM with the 35-50 mph winds though that I believe a true blizzard by the definition was met. 40-50 mph wind gusts continued with moderate snow through 3am. I agree that a downfall of wind is that it messes up measuring, but my god, winds like this in a snowstorm is an unbelievable sight and I wouldn't trade that in for anything. The winds recorded at kNYC were really pitiful, and blizzard conditions were not met. I'll conjure up some NJ obs too in a moment Thank you for this great info! Do you have the hourly observations for Jan. 1996 for LGA and other locations? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thank you for this great info!Do you have the hourly observations for Jan. 1996 for LGA and other locations? Thanks again. I am shocked at the 6 inch discrepency between the 16 inches you reported in Astoria and the 22 I had here in Rego park/Middle Village with the Boxing day storm.I must have been in a mini deform band here.I guess you didnt have the conditions I had here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Real nice work njwinter. Pretty much seals boxing day number 1 for me Tom,that storm is going #1 for a very long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Always nice to think about the snow in summer 1. PDII - got 25" and a whole week off school, that year we were in school till the last week of June because we got so many snow days 2. Feb. 10 2010 - 20", it was just nice to have 2 big snow storms in 1 week 3. Boxing Day 2010 - 22" completely unexpected 4. Jan. 26 2011 - 18" really heavy snow rates, and a personal reason: I met my current girlfriend in a parking lot after this storm when I shoveled her car out 5. Feb. 11 2006 - just an insane amount of snow, and it got me out of taking a math test I didn't study for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrials Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Real nice work njwinter. Pretty much seals boxing day number 1 for me Come on man, blizz 96 lasted much longer, impacted a larger area, had colder temperatures to start, and even with the city plows staying on top of the storm it still shut the city down. If the city haden't half assed the cleanup for boxing day, the impact would have been far less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJO812 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yeah I remember actually a blizzard warning being issued for the 2nd round which never really got close to that bad....still over a foot of snow on the ground on December 6th is quite remarkable.... I remember that storm quite perfectly. I was under a winter storm warning for the 1st part and a blizzard for the 2nd part. The 2nd part of the storm was more fierce than the 1st part. I think I received around 14 inches from both parts. 6 from the 1st part and 8 from the 2nd part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag3 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Come on man, blizz 96 lasted much longer, impacted a larger area, had colder temperatures to start, and even with the city plows staying on top of the storm it still shut the city down. If the city haden't half assed the cleanup for boxing day, the impact would have been far less. Yup. 1996 was snowing for how long? 30 hours? Very long duration, heavy winds and 20"-30"+++ widspread. A NESIS 5 storm, that is the pinnacle of all northeast storms. People should NOT take the airport measurements and think that is all they got. For boxing day both LGA and JFK reported only around 14-15". 1996 produced 30"+ for most of Queens and most of earthlight territory in Jersey. 30"+ was also common in Philly area and for a lot of LI. LGA reported over 20", for **** sake and we know how terrible they are at reporting snow. It was a widespread storm. The totals that earthlight received from Boxing day were the totals that almost eveyrone received from 1996. No comparison with these 2 storms. If Boxing day had lasted for more then a few hours, and spread the big snows around for more people, then it can be on the same breathe as 1996. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrials Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yup. 1996 was snowing for how long? 30 hours? Very long duration, heavy winds and 20"-30"+++ widspread. A NESIS 5 storm, that is the pinnacle of all northeast storms. People should NOT take the airport measurements and think that is all they got. For boxing day both LGA and JFK reported only around 14-15". 1996 produced 30"+ for most of Queens and most of earthlight territory in Jersey. 30"+ was also common in Philly area and for a lot of LI. LGA reported over 20", for **** sake and we know how terrible they are at reporting snow. It was a widespread storm. The totals that earthlight received from Boxing day were the totals that almost eveyrone received from 1996. No comparison with these 2 storms. If Boxing day had lasted for more then a few hours, and spread the big snows around for more people, then it can be on the same breathe as 1996. I can't remember who it was, I think CAT5, or one of the Island boys, who said that several sites totally messed up the second day measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT5ANDREW Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I can't remember who it was, I think CAT5, or one of the Island boys, who said that several sites totally messed up the second day measurements. Yep it was me.The amounts from the backlash band on the 8th dropped another 3-5 inches which was NEVER reported.I also dont believe the amounts between 12-5AM on the 8th were accurate as well.There were thundersnow bands that dropped several more inches than was reported.The NYC Sanitation dept reported 30+ inch amounts as well as 85-88 inch totals for Queens county that 1995-96 winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I liked the cold storms the best with no mixing with Feb. 61 as the exception...They may not have been blizzards but the temperatures were at least in the teens or low 20's during the height of the storm...The following are the storms that fit this category... February 1958... March 1960... December 1960... January 1961... January 1964... February 1967... February 1978... February 1983... January 1996... February 2003... January 2005... February 2006... December 2010... I think March 1956 might also fit, not quite as cold as March 1960 but close, and being 16 days later the normals were 5-6F higher. 3/19/1956: 26/23 3/3/1960: 27/18 However, I don't recall any 1960-type winds/drifting in 1956. Also glad for the Feb 1961 exception, even though NYC was near freezing with mix (none at my NNJ home.) That storm fell atop considerable existing snowpack, probably my only significant "powder on powder" event in my 20 yr of wx memories in NNJ. It also produced the fastest winds ever recorded in February at KNYC, and the deepest snowpack, by about a foot, ever recorded in NNJ. That stretch, 3/56 thru 2/61, was almost unprecedented (until these past two winters) for 10"+ storms at NYC, with 6 plus a 9.9 recorded. In my NNJ backyard, we had 6 events 18-24" during that period. Even in Maine I've not had 18" snowfalls with that kind of frequency - best is 4 from 12/03 thru 2/09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrials Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 check out these radar images, the storm just never stops. http://www.njfreeways.com/weather/1996/07-Jan-96-FortDixDopplerRadarImagery.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzardof09 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yup. 1996 was snowing for how long? 30 hours? Very long duration, heavy winds and 20"-30"+++ widspread. A NESIS 5 storm, that is the pinnacle of all northeast storms. People should NOT take the airport measurements and think that is all they got. For boxing day both LGA and JFK reported only around 14-15". 1996 produced 30"+ for most of Queens and most of earthlight territory in Jersey. 30"+ was also common in Philly area and for a lot of LI. LGA reported over 20", for **** sake and we know how terrible they are at reporting snow. It was a widespread storm. The totals that earthlight received from Boxing day were the totals that almost eveyrone received from 1996. No comparison with these 2 storms. If Boxing day had lasted for more then a few hours, and spread the big snows around for more people, then it can be on the same breathe as 1996. Absolutely right man 96' lasted longer, had more snow over a much wider area and shut down pretty much d.c., philadelphia, nyc and boston....boxing day was to me a localized jackpot storm where jersey got the big totals and other areas a foot. The wind with boxing day blizzard was a hell of a lot more intense though, felt like an arctic blizzard at times during the over night hours. Both storms were brutal though and were to me top 5 all time northeast snowstorms but giving the edge to 96' still Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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