I-83 BLIZZARD Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 What a great storm here! Have dozens of pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Pimpernel Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 LWX's forecast from Friday evening, 18 December 2009 for the DC area (I saved a lot from that winter): Expires:200912190915;;980494 FPUS51 KLWX 190145 ZFPLWX ZONE FORECAST PRODUCT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 845 PM EST FRI DEC 18 2009 DCZ001-VAZ054-190915- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WASHINGTON...ALEXANDRIA...FALLS CHURCH 845 PM EST FRI DEC 18 2009 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY... .OVERNIGHT...SNOW. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 4 TO 8 INCHES. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT. .SATURDAY...SNOW. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 8 TO 12 INCHES. HIGHS AROUND 30. NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT. .SATURDAY NIGHT...SNOW...MAINLY IN THE EVENING. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE EVENING. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 20 INCHES. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT. .SUNDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE MORNING...THEN PARTLY SUNNY IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 50 PERCENT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 What a great storm here! Have dozens of pictures.These are great pictures. That area produces some awesome drifts. The rte 24 and Plank Rd corridors north of Stewartstown are great fun to drive after a big storm like that hits when the wind picks up. I remember PENNDOT using the v plows to clear 851 after the 1/96 blizzard. It was like driving through a snow tunnel because there was so much snow drifted over on both sides of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchnick Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 it was right around this time that the flakes starting falling imby that Friday night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nj2va Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 it was right around this time that the flakes starting falling imby that Friday night Yup, I remember it was around 9 or so that it started in Arlington. ::sigh:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 It won't be many more years before i forget Dec 09. Someone will show me a picture and I'll be like "where in Vermont is that?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeoman Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 People b**ch about lack of snow in the DC area, but geographically this is one of the few places in the US outside of the oragraphically enhanced mountain regions that has the potential of dumping 20"+ inches every 6-7 years. Nowhere in the midwest will you see a 32" storm like what happened in Feb 2010 at IAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxdude64 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Just a good 'ol fashioned snowstorm http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/events/2009/Dec_18_19th_Snowstorm/summary.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 People b**ch about lack of snow in the DC area, but geographically this is one of the few places in the US outside of the oragraphically enhanced mountain regions that has the potential of dumping 20"+ inches every 6-7 years. Nowhere in the midwest will you see a 32" storm like what happened in Feb 2010 at IAD I may have told this story back in the EasternUSWX days but just in case I didn't, here goes. I was hosting the Winnipeg Police Service for a 3 day conference over the holiday weekend here in the DC area right before PDII. They thought it was funny how excited the locals were as the storm approached and how the town seemed to be preparing for a disaster. Once the snow started to fall, they could not believe what they were seeing. They will have a long duration snow like PDII was every once in a while but never with the intensity they saw here. The conference degraded into a discussion on the synoptic setups that create major east coast storms and why places like Winnipeg never receive that much snow. Their largest single snowfall is 18". I have to admit that I was impressed with the general meteorological knowledge that the vast majority of the officers had. I wonder if their education system puts a greater emphasis on their weather education modules in school than here in the States. The CoP called me on 11 Feb 2010 incredulous that we had just had our third storm of the year that exceeded their greatest snowfall. He was a big snow weenie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Was a great storm. But it was not even in my top 5 of all time. It was the start of the most incredible winter ever for the Mid Atlantic though. The February bombs blew this storm away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think what made this storm so memorable and intense for me is that one of my best friends was getting married that day. I had to load him and a pile of stuff into my suburban and drive from rockville to columbia @ 2pm. It took 2 hours but was one of the most wild rides of my life. My truck plowed through the snow no problem but 495 and 95N were an obstacle course of stuck cars. Total free for all. One of the best beers I've ever had was at the hotel bar 2 seconds after I got there. Nerves were tweaking but I honestly enjoy driving in big snows. It's pretty fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87storms Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think what made this storm so memorable and intense for me is that one of my best friends was getting married that day. I had to load him and a pile of stuff into my suburban and drive from rockville to columbia @ 2pm. It took 2 hours but was one of the most wild rides of my life. My truck plowed through the snow no problem but 495 and 95N were an obstacle course of stuck cars. Total free for all. One of the best beers I've ever had was at the hotel bar 2 seconds after I got there. Nerves were tweaking but I honestly enjoy driving in big snows. It's pretty fun. i just started leasing a jeep which will only fuel this hobby. i had never really driven in snow until i got one of these...they really are made for this stuff. what i remember about this storm was that the pattern from fall up to that point and most of that season was just a perfect combination of southern stream waves and blocking. if the pattern stayed it was clear it was just a matter of time that once it got colder we wouldn't be getting nickel and dime'd like we are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87storms Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Was a great storm. But it was not even in my top 5 of all time. It was the start of the most incredible winter ever for the Mid Atlantic though. The February bombs blew this storm away. dec 09 and feb 10 were bigtime, but i still think 96 and 03 were the cream of the crop here and of course 93 was the godfather of east coast storms. personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattie g Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 dec 09 and feb 10 were bigtime, but i still think 96 and 03 were the cream of the crop here and of course 93 was the godfather of east coast storms. personal opinion. I hardly even remember PD2. I'd suspect it's because I was working (bartender) and drunk pretty much the whole time because barely any other restaurants were open for a few days afterwards. I got stuck in Wilkes-Barre, PA during '96. We got about 20" up there, while my hometown in Jersey got 33". December 18-19 was an awesome storm, but its 22" was almost dwarfed by the 27" from Feb 5-6. I only got 8-9" from Feb 10, but the morning blizzard band was pretty sick. No doubt, though, that Dec 18-19 was in my top 5 all time. Easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I hardly even remember PD2. I'd suspect it's because I was working (bartender) and drunk pretty much the whole time because barely any other restaurants were open for a few days afterwards. I got stuck in Wilkes-Barre, PA during '96. We got about 20" up there, while my hometown in Jersey got 33". December 18-19 was an awesome storm, but its 22" was almost dwarfed by the 27" from Feb 5-6. I only got 8-9" from Feb 10, but the morning blizzard band was pretty sick. No doubt, though, that Dec 18-19 was in my top 5 all time. Easy. 96 we were stuck in FL (JAX) for a family vacation and it was tough getting back in... we got one of the last flights back from RDU to DCA. 09-10 was awesome for both storms, both the Dec and Feb ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchnick Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think what made this storm so memorable and intense for me is that one of my best friends was getting married that day. I had to load him and a pile of stuff into my suburban and drive from rockville to columbia @ 2pm. It took 2 hours but was one of the most wild rides of my life. My truck plowed through the snow no problem but 495 and 95N were an obstacle course of stuck cars. Total free for all. One of the best beers I've ever had was at the hotel bar 2 seconds after I got there. Nerves were tweaking but I honestly enjoy driving in big snows. It's pretty fun. so you're the SOB that ran over my grandmother on 495 that day great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEATHER53 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I hardly even remember PD2. I'd suspect it's because I was working (bartender) and drunk pretty much the whole time because barely any other restaurants were open for a few days afterwards. I got stuck in Wilkes-Barre, PA during '96. We got about 20" up there, while my hometown in Jersey got 33". December 18-19 was an awesome storm, but its 22" was almost dwarfed by the 27" from Feb 5-6. I only got 8-9" from Feb 10, but the morning blizzard band was pretty sick. No doubt, though, that Dec 18-19 was in my top 5 all time. Easy. I think the 3 hour period on the 6th was the greatest combo of heavy snow and strong winds that I can remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjay Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 On Long Island this storm produced the heaviest snowfall rates I have ever seen. NWS put out a special weather statement that to expect 3-5" an hr rates for 3 to 6 hours during the night. I picked up 21 inches in 7 hrs. Finished with 24. From what I remember it was a less than 12 hr event here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 dec 09 and feb 10 were bigtime, but i still think 96 and 03 were the cream of the crop here and of course 93 was the godfather of east coast storms. personal opinion. Agree on your three biggest. 96, 03, 93, 79 and 10 are the best in that order for me. 96 and 03 both dropped 3 feet in my area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterWxLuvr Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Agree on your three biggest. 96, 03, 93, 79 and 10 are the best in that order for me. 96 and 03 both dropped 3 feet in my area. What did the Superstorm drop in Winchester? In SWVA it put down anywhere from 25-42 inches. That storm is the most incredible weather event I've ever witnessed. If you go back and read about it, the stats, the records, you just can't get over how powerful it was (2 degrees in Birmingham!!, 4 inches of snow in the Fla panhandle!! On March 13!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I "only" got 26 inches with the superstorm. We got dry slotted for a bit of the storm. It is still in my top 3 because of the wind and drifting. It definitely deserves to be in my top three weather events of all time. I was tempted to swap the 10 and 79 storms. The third highest snow total I have ever recorded was with the 2010 storm. But I was 10 in 1979. That is the storm that has forever hooked me on Noreasters. Good picture of the dry slot from the superstorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87storms Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Agree on your three biggest. 96, 03, 93, 79 and 10 are the best in that order for me. 96 and 03 both dropped 3 feet in my area. i was too young for 79 and 83...so i'd probably go 03 (lived in upper moco), 96, 93, 10, 09, the 87 storms, 00...and that might round it out. lived in lower moco for the rest of the storms which is probably why 03 was tops for me...felt like there was at least 2 feet of powder with that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 This was a great storm 21" IMBY. Great time of year too. I was watching the temps fall all day long Saturday. It was getting progressively colder the whole time. By evening Saturday close to 20F. Still, Jan 96 remains the biggest dumper with the strongest sustained winds and drifting since I moved to Westminster from Balto in Dec 93 (missed the Superstorm here). The most buried that I have ever been was after the second Feb 2010 blizzard, over 50" on the ground. I actually hired a contractor to clean my driveway and sidewalk after that for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPE Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 What I remember is that heavy snow band that developed on the front end here. Was supposed to be 1-2 inches by morning(I was planning to travel based on that) but the first 3 hours of the storm produced 6 inches of snow by 7 am...so I stayed home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 They don't make 'em like that anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPE Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 They don't make 'em like that anymore. Nope. Once in a lifetime. Amazing and surreal winter. Near starvation since has produced rampant weenie-ism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEATHER53 Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 20" from that one and never, ever, never,never,never thought I was still yet to get almost twice that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozz Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Time to bump this up http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/12/17/looking-back-on-winter-2009-10-snowpocalypse-strikes-smashes-december-snow-records/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mappy Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 5-years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Was able to get home from Portland, OR just in time for the storm. Awesome storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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