One Year Later: Remembering the KU Boxing Day Blizzard HECS

[codfishsnowman]

This fella , Earthlight, is constantly picked on for his snowfall measuring techniques it seems. I have just one observation: It does look like he got about thirty inches in the boxing day event. I do not know about the other storms but that looks like well over two feet to me in those pics.

[earthlight]

This fella , Earthlight, is constantly picked on for his snowfall measuring techniques it seems. I have just one observation: It does look like he got about thirty inches in the boxing day event. I do not know about the other storms but that looks like well over two feet to me in those pics.

It's all good, it's a running joke. The last two years I have been insanely lucky, essentially the jackpot at least for my local area. But there have been storms (Jan 11-12 last year for example) where other places in the NYC area got way more than my location. So the joke is obviously exaggerated, but I don't mind it...it's definitely better than being on the other end of the joke like I was in 07-08 and 08-09 where my location came in with the lowest totals of anybody for two years straight.

[Isotherm]

It's all good, it's a running joke. The last two years I have been insanely lucky, essentially the jackpot at least for my local area. But there have been storms (Jan 11-12 last year for example) where other places in the NYC area got way more than my location. So the joke is obviously exaggerated, but I don't mind it...it's definitely better than being on the other end of the joke like I was in 07-08 and 08-09 where my location came in with the lowest totals of anybody for two years straight.

I'm sure you probably beat me at least in the 07-08 winter, that was a nightmare for Monmouth County, 8" total. I had 29.5" in 08-09.

The past 2 winters have been phenomenal, 72" in 09-10 and 57.5" 10-11. I had 25" with the Boxing day blizzard here but coastal Monmouth recorded upwards of 30".

[earthlight]

I'm sure you probably beat me at least in the 07-08 winter, that was a nightmare for Monmouth County, 8" total. I had 29.5" in 08-09.

The past 2 winters have been phenomenal, 72" in 09-10 and 57.5" 10-11. I had 25" with the Boxing day blizzard here but coastal Monmouth recorded upwards of 30".

I don't remember what my exact total was in 07-08, but it was not a lot. Probably more than 8 " though. That winter was a disaster because every single storm under-performed. It was essentially a constant stream of letdowns from the beginning of the winter to the end.

But everything evens out eventually, I am sure we will suffer through times like that sooner than later especially after the magic of the last two winters.

[billgwx]

march 1888 tried to repeat itself in feb 2010. But temps were just not cold enough though to convert the 3" of QPF to a better accumulating snow around nyc.

Agree. That storm was essentially March 1888 displaced 50 miles NW.

[Hailstorm]

Agree.  That storm was essentially March 1888 displaced 50 miles NW.

Since we are talking about March 1888, do you think that NYC's official snowfall measurement of around 20" is accurate? In Queens and the surrounding suburbs of Connecticut and New York State, there were widespread measurements of between 40-50 inches. Furthermore, Gravesend, Brooklyn recorded the highest snow drift of 50 feet. It's virtually unheard of to have a 20-inch snowfall translate to 50-foot drifts without extreme winds above 90 MPH or so.

[nzucker]

Since we are talking about March 1888, do you think that NYC's official snowfall measurement of around 20" is accurate? In Queens and the surrounding suburbs of Connecticut and New York State, there were widespread measurements of between 40-50 inches. Furthermore, Gravesend, Brooklyn recorded the highest snow drift of 50 feet. It's virtually unheard of to have a 20-inch snowfall translate to 50-foot drifts without extreme winds above 90 MPH or so.

Almost everyone thinks that they undermeasured at Central Park.

[Guest Pamela]

Since we are talking about March 1888, do you think that NYC's official snowfall measurement of around 20" is accurate?

Yes.

In Queens and the surrounding suburbs of Connecticut and New York State, there were widespread measurements of between 40-50 inches.

The 40 - 50 inch totals were not widespread, but local. There was a 47" total in New Haven, CT and around 50" in Albany, but most of Queens was in the 20 - 30 inch range. More importantly, most of NE New Jersey was in the 20 - 25 inch range...and, as we all know, NE New Jersey totals are very often quite similar to those recorded in Central Park with coastal snowstorms.

The heaviest snow with the system was generally along an axis north and northeast of NYC....from western and central CT up the Hudson Valley. To the west and soutnwest of NYC, amounts dropped off rapidly.

Lastly, in reading the weather log kept by the men on duty at the Weather Bureau during those three days in March...one gets the feeling that extreme care was taken to accurately record the series of events that transpired during that period...and that measurements were taken in a careful fashion consistent with the techniques employed during that era.

[uncle W]

Almost everyone thinks that they undermeasured at Central Park.

I believe Battery Park had 20.9" for the blizz of 88...

[Hailstorm]

Haha yeah that's a cool factoid I always tell people.

Man, it is almost sad to look back at this storm a year removed from it. Reason being.. I know that it is highly unlikely we will ever experience something like that again in our lives. I wish I could've let the whole thing sink in a little more.

 

Well, here we are now with the upcoming snowpocalypse! Please, for the love of God, I hope this bump causes you to come back to this forum and reply to my post!