Remembering Snowpocalypse -- 12/18-12/19, 2009

[Fozz]

I actually rank this above 2/6/2010.... for years I wasn't sure which storm I liked more, but now that I think about it, I choose December 2009, even though my area got more in the February storm.

 

The anticipation before the storm was so much more thrilling, mainly because it was the first HECS in almost 7 years, while 2/6/2010 was the first HECS in 7 weeks and felt a lot like deja vu.

 

The other reason is the shock and rarity of it happening in mid-December. Like I said in another thread, I didn't think a storm of this magnitude was possible in December. It was just unbelievable.

[Sparky]

If you missed this one you missed the best damned December storm EVER!

[usedtobe]

I remember having a long running thread on the pattern.  I know i had one for the Feb storm but think I also had one prior to this one as the pattern was a great one with the superens D+8 really pitting out a number of good storm analogs.   However,  the models kept the low suppressed until around day 3 when the ens mean had a 500 pattern almost identical to the DC 8" or greater composite.  Shortly after that I think Don Sutherland started comparing it to the knickerbocker storm. I tried finding the thread from eastern but could only find my thread on the feb 5/6 storm not the Deec one.

[Fozz]

If you missed this one you missed the best damned December storm EVER!

I almost missed it... I was out of town from the 20th till around New Years. Had this storm happened just a few days later, I would have missed out on it completely.

 

I remember having a long running thread on the pattern. I know i had one for the Feb storm but think I also had one prior to this one as the pattern was a great one with the superens D+8 really pitting out a number of good storm analogs. However, the models kept the low suppressed until around day 3 when the ens mean had a 500 pattern almost identical to the DC 8" or greater composite. Shortly after that I think Don Sutherland started comparing it to the knickerbocker storm. I tried finding the thread from eastern but could only find my thread on the feb 5/6 storm not the Deec one.

 

Is it this thread?

http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?/topic/214818-thundersnow-18z-gfs-sounding-says-maybe/

[PrinceFrederickWx]

I actually rank this above 2/6/2010.... for years I wasn't sure which storm I liked more, but now that I think about it, I choose December 2009, even though my area got more in the February storm.

 

The anticipation before the storm was so much more thrilling, mainly because it was the first HECS in almost 7 years, while 2/6/2010 was the first HECS in 7 weeks and felt a lot like deja vu.

 

The other reason is the shock and rarity of it happening in mid-December. Like I said in another thread, I didn't think a storm of this magnitude was possible in December. It was just unbelievable.

 

Nah 2/5-6/10 was way better- more snow and watching everyone get shafted in NYC and SNE was hilarious. The one time (and probably the only time) where the mid-atlantic were the snow kings.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I actually rank this above 2/6/2010.... for years I wasn't sure which storm I liked more, but now that I think about it, I choose December 2009, even though my area got more in the February storm.

 

The anticipation before the storm was so much more thrilling, mainly because it was the first HECS in almost 7 years, while 2/6/2010 was the first HECS in 7 weeks and felt a lot like deja vu.

 

The other reason is the shock and rarity of it happening in mid-December. Like I said in another thread, I didn't think a storm of this magnitude was possible in December. It was just unbelievable.

 

I generally feel the same.  I've tossed that around, which one was "better" or would rank ahead, either the Dec. 18-19 storm or Feb. 5-6.  Probably really doesn't matter in the end, all the storms that year were remarkable and they were all great!  In my particular location, the amount of snow was similar for each...20.0" from the December storm and 23.5" from February.  Heck, both also occurred on a Friday night through Saturday, too.  The February event was obviously bigger overall for the area when you look at the actual snow amounts that a lot of people got.  But I kind of lean toward the December storm for a few reasons:  it was still early in the season and that put an exclamation point on the start of that amazing winter, it was the first really major event here in many years (as you stated), and it was quite cold throughout the event.  Cold powder from start to finish.  I remember the excitement as it started to snow in the late evening (want to say around 9 or 10 PM that Friday), and it stuck immediately.  Woke up to around 9" on the ground and got another 11" through the day and into the evening Saturday.  After that winter in some of the ensuing discussions, I almost felt like the two big events in February sort of overshadowed the December storm.  A lot of the talk was on whether the Feb. 5-6 event was bigger or the blizzard a few days later, almost as if the December one was a distant memory.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Nah 2/5-6/10 was way better- more snow and watching everyone get shafted in NYC and SNE was hilarious. The one time (and probably the only time) where the mid-atlantic were the snow kings.

 

That was a bonus, yes!  !  But didn't the December storm also do the same (maybe NYC got hit too, can't recall that offhand).

[HighStakes]

That was a bonus, yes!  !  But didn't the December storm also do the same (maybe NYC got hit too, can't recall that offhand).

I think Long Island got blasted.

[Fozz]

That was a bonus, yes!  !  But didn't the December storm also do the same (maybe NYC got hit too, can't recall that offhand).

 

Nah, NYC and Boston got about 8-12" or so... but LI received HECS totals

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I think Long Island got blasted.

 

 

Nah, NYC and Boston got about 8-12" or so... but LI received HECS totals

 

Ah, OK...thanks for the reminder!  In February, I recall there were some in the SNE forum who were complaining about all the snow we were getting that year and how it was somehow an affront to the natural order of things, or that we here in the MA had no right to revel in the record-breaking once in a lifetime winter.  Not everyone, but I remember seeing comments to that effect (granted, some from here were trolling them a bit).  I found that kind of amusing (and annoying), because though places like BOS and NYC didn't get the "big" totals that winter, it's not like they had a crappy year (a lousy winter here is far worse than a lousy one up that way!).  Besides, didn't NYC recently get something like three straight 40"+ years shortly before that season?

[Fozz]

Ah, OK...thanks for the reminder!  In February, I recall there were some in the SNE forum who were complaining about all the snow we were getting that year and how it was somehow an affront to the natural order of things, or that we here in the MA had no right to revel in the record-breaking once in a lifetime winter.  Not everyone, but I remember seeing comments to that effect (granted, some from here were trolling them a bit).  I found that kind of amusing (and annoying), because though places like BOS and NYC didn't get the "big" totals that winter, it's not like they had a crappy year (a lousy winter here is far worse than a lousy one up that way!).  Besides, didn't NYC recently get something like three straight 40"+ years shortly before that season?

 

The first HECS in February completely missed New England, as well as Manhattan. The second storm was a painful bust for SNE, and then the late month "Snowicane" brought a HECS to NYC while SNE received 40 degree wind-driven rain. I almost felt bad for SNE that winter, but at the same time I didn't... the key word is almost. 

 

People who whine when they get above average snow, just because places further south are getting more, annoy me. They think they're entitled to always get buried.

[WinterWxLuvr]

This thread should be locked forever.

[T. August]

The first HECS in February completely missed New England, as well as Manhattan. The second storm was a painful bust for SNE, and then the late month "Snowicane" brought a HECS to NYC while SNE received 40 degree wind-driven rain. I almost felt bad for SNE that winter, but at the same time I didn't... the key word is almost. 

 

People who whine when they get above average snow, just because places further south are getting more, annoy me. They think they're entitled to always get buried.

When more southern locations (as in SC Nov. storm) receive higher snow totals than my area, it doesn't really bother me. It's a lot more difficult for them to get snow than us. But when northern areas get snow, it's sometimes annoying lol.

 

We get it, you get more snow than us

 

[Eskimo Joe]

I had to retake ODE in the spring b/c of this storm......

That was an epic few days with you, me and Anthony looking at the SREFs and ensembles.

[mappy]

I'll just leave this here

[EastCoast NPZ]

I'll just leave this here

 

Pretty sure that is the best wedding pic I've ever seen. 

[CAPE]

Dug up a couple photos from this event. In terms of snowfall that winter was truly Epic. Never see that again.

 

 

[gymengineer]

Nah 2/5-6/10 was way better- more snow and watching everyone get shafted in NYC and SNE was hilarious. The one time (and probably the only time) where the mid-atlantic were the snow kings.

It wasn't just more snow--- it was windier by quite a bit too. I think many remember the heavy, wet nature of the snow foremost, but the wind was what a lot of you all commented on *during* the event:

http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?/topic/223324-dcvamdwv-hecs-obs-and-discussion-ii/

http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?/topic/223380-dcvamdwv-hecs-obs-and-discussion-iii/

 

DCA was windier during the height of 2/5-6/10 than during any phase of 1/96. 

[T. August]

Nice house CAPE.

 

And, mapgirl, nice photoshopped scenery.

 

[Bob Chill]

A good friend of mine had a wedding that night in columbia and I was in the wedding. I had to drive him and a crap pile of stuff in my suburban. I picked him up in Rockville at 2pm and it was dumping.

Incredible drive on the beltway and 95 was a complete free for all. Cars stuck everywhere. A foot of powder on 95 by 3pm and puking snow. I loved it. My truck plowed right through it but it still took 2 hours. Only about 40 people could make the wedding out of the 150 invited. Being snowed in at a hotel with unlimited food and drink made for a very fun evening. Great time.

Eta: just read back through the thread. Already posted the same exact story last year. At least my memory isn't slipping....yet!

[CAPE]

Nice house CAPE.

 

And, mapgirl, nice photoshopped scenery.

 

Thanks. Yours is very cool as well. Is it a log home?

[T. August]

Thanks. Yours is very cool as well. Is it a log home?

Thanks! It's not a log home, just a standard A-frame.

[HighStakes]

The more I look back on this storm the more I appreciate it. Definitely overshadowed by what happened in February that year or else it would probably be remembered differently. This storm had everything going for it. Great track with no mixing concerns and perfect temps. Also long duration with some winds. Can't ask for much more.

[CAPE]

The more I look back on this storm the more I appreciate it. Definitely overshadowed by what happened in February that year or else it would probably be remembered differently. This storm had everything going for it. Great track with no mixing concerns and perfect temps. Also long duration with some winds. Can't ask for much more.

It wasn't a true blizzard, but given it was mid/late Dec. it was an awesome storm. I mean c'mon 20+ inches! That front end mega band gave me 6 inches in 2 hours. Great stuff.

[Ger]

Love this storm. Early season, Christmastime, harbinger, pure snow none of this mixing nonsense we typically deal with or almost deal with in big storms (tho that could be said for practically the entire season's storms), fast start and a really exceptional pivot Saturday afternoon. I was in Upper Marlboro and the snow came down thru 9pm Sat. 18-21" or so altogether. I'd rank '09 second on my biggies list of the ones I've seen (all since '96; I was born in '85). Of the two standard-bearers that winter, I have to give the slimmest of edges to Feb. 5-6 for several reasons: heaviest snow I've ever seen falling from 8pm to 2am; the incredible totals, 30"+, many quite close to and even in the cities; the gravity wave; the immediate tracking of another storm within a few days of this one, eliminating post-HECS idleness and depression; among others. I did experience a few nervous hours overnight from about 2am-5am as the snow tapered where I was in NE D.C., obsessing over radar as the dry slot approached looking like it meant serious business, then relief when back building and the pivot took. Still, appreciable damage had definitely been done: I would measure 21-24.5", basically in line with reports from across the city, DCA's tarmac and low lying, reclaimed swampland neighborhoods immediately adjacent to rivers notwithstanding. Locales not far away, NE and NNE including Beltsville, Laurel, Crofton and on up through Columbia and Elkridge, narrowly missed the tapering that went on closer to the slot and found themselves forming a noticeable little jackpot area nearby, that I missed. But that's pretty much it as far as complaints go.

Another reason I place Feb. 5-6 above all other comers, apart from the synoptic stuff, is because I really, really savored seeing New York --and specifically New York-- having, finally, failed while we did especially well. The last time was Jan. 2000. It hardly made up for our numerous Miller B fails while they've come out time and again like feasting fat rats for a decade plus. And we soon paid a terrible price with a revolutionary and innovative, overall spectacular debacle at Boxing Day later on the same year. Even still, brief as it was, the reversal of fortune was refreshing, rewarding and frequently hilarious, and in the end CPK recorded like 50" on the season anyway so it wasn't anything close to a shutout.

Hey-- Who here remembers mid-Atlantic trolls making posts about "rain in downtown DC" in the NYC forum the evening of the 5th?? Lol!!!

[Ltrain]

What a storm to kick off that epic winter. Sorry, the pic is bad quality. I suck at photography and it was 2009 on a crappy camera. This was during one of the heavy snow bands.

[attml]

Here are few pictures from my house near Annapolis.  It was a great storm that was very scenic!

 

[nj2va]

Great pictures!

[Ian]

el bumpo

[mappy]

6!