CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 For Connecticut the obvious winner is 1888 just by shear volume of snow. 40-55" of snow in the valleys has such a huge return time it's gotta make the top of the list. I would argue as anomalous as the storm was... what made it truly incredible for the Hudson Valley around ALB and the CT River Valley was the very lucky placement of a mesoscale feature. Sort of a one in a million kind of shot to make would would have been a big snowstorm into a truly epic blizzard. For #2 and #3 in Connecticut I'm torn between 1978 and October 2011. I'd give the edge to 1978 for CT because the impact was huge inland and at the shoreline - so statewide 1978 probably had a higher impact. October 2011 probably had a more lasting impact in terms of damage in many inland and populated areas. 2011 was more anomalous meteorologically than 1978. Some notes... snow accumulation is not a huge part of the issue. Impact is more important. Feb 2006 was 20-30" in the Valley but it was fluff. A total non-impact storm. A wind whipped, heavy, 25035" in 1978 is clearly substantially more challenging. It's also important to look at the state as a whole and not just your backyard. A heavier weight should be placed on storms that hit populated/valley locations more than the hills. Who cares about 3 feet at 1,000 ft where no one lives. Since 1850 in Connecticut... the greatest snowstorms are: 1: 1888 2: 1978 3: 2011 Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowlover76 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 For my area of Long Island: 1. 1888 2. 1978 3. 2011 honorable menions: Dec 2009 Presidents day 03 X-mas 2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 For my area of Long Island: 1. 1888 2. 1978 3. 2011 honorable menions: Dec 2009 Presidents day 03 X-mas 2002 I doubt any of those would make any top 5 list for Long Island if you're going back as far as 1888. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherwiz Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I definitely wouldn't have Feb 2006 in the top 3 either and for the same reasons you mentioned. Sure we got nailed here with almost 30'' of snow but by the next morning it had all compacted down to like 15'' and then something like 7'' the day after that. There wasn't any major social implications either except travel obviously. From what I have read and heard about 1978 that certainly was very epic and what made it just as difficult for people too was the fact nobody had snowblowers and everyone had to shovel their way out. The impacts of that were probably just as bad as the October storm was on just about everyone and it affected the entire state, not just inland areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowlover76 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I doubt any of those would make any top 5 list for Long Island if you're going back as far as 1888. I just threw those in there becase I really ccannot remember anythung from before 1990 maybe feb 1983 jan 1996(my area was shafted in this one) Dec 1946(or was it 47?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowlover76 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I definitely wouldn't have Feb 2006 in the top 3 either and for the same reasons you mentioned. Sure we got nailed here with almost 30'' of snow but by the next morning it had all compacted down to like 15'' and then something like 7'' the day after that. There wasn't any major social implications either except travel obviously. From what I have read and heard about 1978 that certainly was very epic and what made it just as difficult for people too was the fact nobody had snowblowers and everyone had to shovel their way out. The impacts of that were probably just as bad as the October storm was on just about everyone and it affected the entire state, not just inland areas. I hated feb 2006 all i got was 11" everywheree around me had near 30 inches the ultimate screw job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherwiz Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I hated feb 2006 all i got was 11" everywheree around me had near 30 inches the ultimate screw job That meso band was disgusting...thunder/lightning and 3-4'' per hour snowfall rates. I got 14'' of snow in 3 hours from that band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I just threw those in there becase I really ccannot remember anythung from before 1990 maybe feb 1983 jan 1996(my area was shafted in this one) Dec 1946(or was it 47?) Dec '47 was big for NYC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40/70 Benchmark Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My fav is April 1997. #2 is December 1992. The rest blend together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Some snowstorm back in the last ice age probably trumps all. As far as IMBY (TAN). Feb 1978 Jan 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I have to go with 4/1/97 for its absolute ridiculousness. Jan 2005 is close second for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I have to go with 4/1/97 for its absolute ridiculousness. Jan 2005 is close second for me. If you expanded the list to include the last century... how do you think you'd rank 'em? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 If you expanded the list to include the last century... how do you think you'd rank 'em? I guess it depends on where you were. I think top storm here is the Blizz of '78. It's hard for me to rank storm and impact when I didn't experience it. I certainly think 4/1/97 is likely in the top 5 here both from impact and amount of snow..probably close to number 1 in spots. I mean, it took almost 2 days for my grandmother's street to get plowed. Finally did it with a front end loader. I think Jan 2005 is in the top 5 here. Feb '69 may get close, but longevity may have prevented a big impact to society. I'd have to think about some others. Dec 2003 was pretty big in ern mass. Kind of goes under the radar, but my folks lost power for 2 days after that storm. Not fun when temps get cold in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I guess it depends on where you were. I think top storm here is the Blizz of '78. It's hard for me to rank storm and impact when I didn't experience it. I certainly think 4/1/97 is likely in the top 5 here both from impact and amount of snow..probably close to number 1 in spots. I mean, it took almost 2 days for my grandmother's street to get plowed. Finally did it with a front end loader. I think Jan 2005 is in the top 5 here. Feb '69 may get close, but longevity may have prevented a big impact to society. I'd have to think about some others. Dec 2003 was pretty big in ern mass. Kind of goes under the radar, but my folks lost power for 2 days after that storm. Not fun when temps get cold in December. It's funny when you set aside "amount" and just look at impact over a region (say eastern Mass, for instance) you can immediately throw out some big storms. It's the impact people remember... not necessarily the amount. Would 78 have been as legendary as it was if the winds were half as impressive or that front end thump occurred overnight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 For Massachusetts, I think the rankings go: 1. February 1978 2. March 1960 3. January 2005 4. April 1997 (this really screwed up Boston for nearly a week with a total debacle in snow removal, so its highest effects were in the most densely populated region...places like ORH managed to get back to normal within a couple days) Its hard to rank storms like February 1899...there were no cars back then. I'm sure the impact was obscene, but even a 12" storm back then was a big pain. If you try and normalize it compared to society's changes, then it would probably still be up there. Its pretty easy to say Mar 1888 would be #1 in CT for today because the totals were so obscenely high...but 18-24 inches in Feb 1899 is tougher since it is comparable with many modern day storms. Honorable mention that may or may not be worthy of a top 5 spot: February 23-28, 1969 February 16, 1958 October 29-30, 2011 (yeah it missed BOS, but a lot of their suburbs and then of course all of the rest of the state to the west had massive power outages) December 11-12 1992 (coastal flooding was monsterous despite not everyone getting a ton of snow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 It's funny when you set aside "amount" and just look at impact over a region (say eastern Mass, for instance) you can immediately throw out some big storms. It's the impact people remember... not necessarily the amount. Would 78 have been as legendary as it was if the winds were half as impressive or that front end thump occurred overnight? I mean if you do impact...hell 12/13/07 blows Feb 2003 out the window..lol. Most of the time I only care about amounts for my personal purposes, but yeah things are different when you describe impact. Dec '92 I feel should be in top 5 as well. Coastal destruction and 2-3' of snow in the interior. Probably one of the most disruptive storms in the last 50 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I mean if you do impact...hell 12/13/07 blows Feb 2003 out the window..lol. Most of the time I only care about amounts for my personal purposes, but yeah things are different when you describe impact. Dec '92 I feel should be in top 5 as well. Coastal destruction and 2-3' of snow in the interior. Probably one of the most disruptive storms in the last 50 years. lol you're right. Besides weenies I doubt anyone remembers Feb 2003. Or Feb 2006 back here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 For Massachusetts, I think the rankings go: 1. February 1978 2. March 1960 3. January 2005 4. April 1997 (this really screwed up Boston for nearly a week with a total debacle in snow removal, so its highest effects were in the most densely populated region...places like ORH managed to get back to normal within a couple days) Its hard to rank storms like February 1899...there were no cars back then. I'm sure the impact was obscene, but even a 12" storm back then was a big pain. If you try and normalize it compared to society's changes, then it would probably still be up there. Its pretty easy to say Mar 1888 would be #1 in CT for today because the totals were so obscenely high...but 18-24 inches in Feb 1899 is tougher since it is comparable with many modern day storms. Honorable mention that may or may not be worthy of a top 5 spot: February 23-28, 1969 February 16, 1958 October 29-30, 2011 (yeah it missed BOS, but a lot of their suburbs and then of course all of the rest of the state to the west had massive power outages) December 11-12 1992 (coastal flooding was monsterous despite not everyone getting a ton of snow) Agreed with these here. I think the '92 point is a good one for Mass. It falls short in CT because the totals were much lower here as a rule (excluding Mt Tolland and Norfolk) than they were in Mass. Smaller geographic area. I think doing the rankings state by state is interesting. Cool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Agreed with these here. I think the '92 point is a good one for Mass. It falls short in CT because the totals were much lower here as a rule (excluding Mt Tolland and Norfolk) than they were in Mass. Smaller geographic area. I think doing the rankings state by state is interesting. Cool stuff. I actually give Dec '92 a high ranking because even in CT, you had heavy snow, coastal flooding, power outages..etc. It was also quite disruptive in RI too with NW RI getting 2' and tons of outages. Even in areas of Mass that didn't get heavy snow and coastal flooding...there was quite a bit of fresh water flooding in SE Mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 March 1960 was pretty bad for most of MA...very high impact...winds were really high and of course snow totals were big...even smoked the Cape. Kind of gets overlooked historically because Feb 1978 just steals the show when looking back pre-1990. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 March 1960 was pretty bad for most of MA...very high impact...winds were really high and of course snow totals were big...even smoked the Cape. Kind of gets overlooked historically because Feb 1978 just steals the show when looking back pre-1990. I went back and tried to find some stuff out with that storm...don't really know it too well other than the heavy snow amounts. It was quite the storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I guess it depends on where you were. I think top storm here is the Blizz of '78. It's hard for me to rank storm and impact when I didn't experience it. I certainly think 4/1/97 is likely in the top 5 here both from impact and amount of snow..probably close to number 1 in spots. I mean, it took almost 2 days for my grandmother's street to get plowed. Finally did it with a front end loader. I think Jan 2005 is in the top 5 here. Feb '69 may get close, but longevity may have prevented a big impact to society. I'd have to think about some others. Dec 2003 was pretty big in ern mass. Kind of goes under the radar, but my folks lost power for 2 days after that storm. Not fun when temps get cold in December. I'd concur on the Dec 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Jan 1978 was pretty beefy, but rather forgotten around BOS...apparently something happened a couple of weeks later Oct 2011 was beefy in terms of snowfall here, but minor in impact due to the fluff. Other areas were obviously worse. Moving 20" of ppwder was easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 March 1960 was pretty bad for most of MA...very high impact...winds were really high and of course snow totals were big...even smoked the Cape. Kind of gets overlooked historically because Feb 1978 just steals the show when looking back pre-1990. That storm was awesome...28" in Dobbs Ferry. ACK got crushed! Talking about Long Island, you've got to put 2/4/61 on there. That was a devastating storm for much of NYC metro, including Long Island, as the snowpack was already formidable in many places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collinsville Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Since 1850 in Connecticut... the greatest snowstorms are: 1: 1888 2: 1978 3: 2011 Thoughts? No doubt 1888 is #1 making every other storm its b**ch. More than just the snow totals was how crazy cold it got in mid March and it started as rain, lol. 1978 or 2011 is a tough call. Seems to me 78 would have less impact now with better cars/snow removal. I'm partial to 2011 cause I measured it and totally weenied out in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have said before that snow removal now is not much different than 1978 A National Guard front end loader got us out. It would be needed again. Cars would still be stuck. See Dec 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 No doubt 1888 is #1 making every other storm its b**ch. More than just the snow totals was how crazy cold it got in mid March and it started as rain, lol. 1978 or 2011 is a tough call. Seems to me 78 would have less impact now with better cars/snow removal. I'm partial to 2011 cause I measured it and totally weenied out in it Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have said before that snow removal now is not much different than 1978 A National Guard front end loader got us out. It would be needed again. Cars would still be stuck. See Dec 2007 Yeah the timing of 1978 is what made it so devastating for snow removal on the roads...we saw a smaller sample of that on December 13, 2007. January 1978 had snow amounts over 20" in BOS metro and the snow removal wasn't nearly as big a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vortex95 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have to go with 4/1/97 for its absolute ridiculousness. Jan 2005 is close second for me. You mean the other way around for you. That radar loop from BOX for Jan 2005 gives you a you know what, and you are always talking about "that radar"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan11 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I got a quarter inch here in 2/2006. The dual storm late February 2010 event may be the granddaddy of them all for the northern Catskills where Hunter and Windham got 6 to 7 feet of heavy wet snow. But the blizzard of 88 is the tops for the ENY region overall with 4 to 5 feet in the valleys. I hated feb 2006 all i got was 11" everywheree around me had near 30 inches the ultimate screw job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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