Very Impressive String Of Record Breaking October Snows Since 2006

[bluewave]

2006

 

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/storm101206.html

 

Prime Feature: Dramatic crippling out of season event. Unprecedented meteorological parameters.

Words cannot do justice to the astounding event which opened the 2006-07 season. Not only was it the earliest named event by far (two weeks) of the over 120 in the 13 year record of our lake effect archive, but it was the most unique in  regards to destruction of trees and power outages, directly because of its out of season factor. Almost a million residents of the Niagara Frontier lost power, some for as long as a week, and tree damage was the worst in memory, especially to the lush vegetation in the many historic parkways and parks in the Buffalo area.

 

The extreme parameters of the event were noted all week and even mentioned six days ahead in forecast discussions. The depth of cold air was almost unprecedented for so early in the season and Lake Erie was a mild 62 degrees, three degrees above normal for October 12. Instability levels were dramatic with 850 mb to surface delta t's of 24C or so, inversion levels were simply off the chart at 25k feet with omega and Cape values unprecedented for a lake effect event. The only question, and a big one, was whether the boundary layer could be cold enough to maintain snow with a flow off a 62 degree lake. It was initially assumed that there would just enough moderation for the bulk of this forecasted intense lake effect storm to fall as rain, with perhaps some graupel or wet snow inland, but by Thursday morning (12^th) it was becoming marginal, and a Warning was issued early Thursday afternoon for 1-6" of wet snow, specifically because of the fact that most trees were still in full leaf, and the threat of serious damage and associated power outages.

 

2008

 

http://www.cbs6albany.com/shared/weather/images/maps/ClimateData/weather_historical_daily/2008/Oct27-29_2008_Storm.html

 

MAJOR STORM, Heavy Elevation Snow-Excessive Rain-High Wind
Monday October 27-Wednesday October 29, 2008 
(The brunt of the Snowstorm occurred on Tuesday, October 28) 

After only a one day break in the weather the atmosphere unloaded again over the Northeast throwing a major winter type storm on the region which dumped exceptionally heavy snow in the higher elevations of the Catskills and Adirondacks, torrential rains in the valleys, and produced strong wind gusts. Downed trees and power lines resulted in 40,000 utility customers in the Catskills, Mohawk valley, and Adirondacks losing their heat and lights during the height of the storm on Tuesday the 28th with approximately 10,000 of those customers still without power well into Thursday the 30th. Snowfall at elevations of 1500' and higher in western Ulster, western Greene, western Albany, Schoharie, Delaware, and Otsego counties ranged from 12"-18" on average with a few locations at elevations above 2200' coming in with 18"-22" of a super heavy and wet snow. Torrential rains in the Mohawk and Hudson valleys as well as in Berkshire County added up to between 1.25" and 1.75" with localized amounts as high as 2.5". Considerable urban and poor drainage flooding occurred on many streets at the height of the rain Tuesday morning into the afternoon with street flooding due in large part to storm drains being clogged with leaves. Stronger winds came in during the afternoon and especially after dark as the storm moved north of the region with WNW gusts ranging from 40-45 mph common through 3am on Wednesday the 29th

 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/wet_windy_and_cold.html

 

No one dreams of a White Halloween. But the highway salt trucks arrived before the trick-or-treaters this year, as a nor'easter blasted parts of New Jersey yesterday with more than a foot of snow and wind gusts approaching 50 mph.

The storm left 14 inches in High Point, Sussex County, while 12 inches were reported in Lebanon, Hunterdon County, 11.5 inches in Mount Olive, Morris County, 4.8 inches in Hackettstown, Warren County, and 1.2 inches in Hillsborough, Somerset County.

In New Brunswick, where 1.5 inches fell, it was the first measurable snowfall in October in 36 years and only the fifth in October since record-keeping began in 1894, state climatologist David Robinson said.

 

"We're talking about a one in 20- or 25-year event in the lower elevations of New Jersey," he said. "There's no question this will go down as one of the more memorable October snows for the state as a whole."

 

 

2011

 

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/archive.html?year=2011&month=10

 

The most extraordinary October snowstorm in over two centuries in the Northeast U.S. has finally come to an end this Sunday afternoon. Not since the infamous snow hurricane of 1804 have such prodigious amounts of snow been recorded in New England and, to a lesser extent, in the mid-Atlantic states. In fact, the snowfall, in most cases, has exceeded that of even the great October snow of 1804. Trees that had not yet lost their leaves suffered tremendous damage from the wet, heavy snow, and snapped branches and falling trees brought down numerous power lines, leaving at least 2.5 million people without electricity.

 

The records are broken are simply unbelievable. New York City's Central Park location, with a period of record dating back to 1869, received an official 2.9" of snowfall, breaking the previous record of 0.8" set in 1925. The highest total in New York City itself was 6.0" at Fieldston in the Bronx. But that is a simply an afterthought compared to the 19.0" reported just 45 miles northwest of Manhattan at West Milford. New Jersey. Newark, New Jersey reported 5.2", by far their greatest October snowfall on record. And even that total pales in comparison to the astonishing figures measured in New Hampshire and Massachusetts where more than 30" has been reported. Perhaps most amazing of all is the 22.5" that fell at Concord, New Hampshire between 3pm Saturday and 7am Sunday. This the second greatest 24-hour total ever record on any date or month in Concord history. Virtually every site north of Maryland to Maine, with the exception of coastal areas, recorded their greatest October snowfall on record. True blizzard conditions were averted since the strongest winds were confined to coastal areas where the precipitation fell almost exclusively as rain. A wind gust of 69 mph was recorded at Nantucket, Massachusetts (where sustained winds of 53 mph also occurred) and Barnstable at 4am Sunday. The top wind gust on Long Island, New York was 58 mph at Sands Point.

 

2012

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/hurricane-sandy-recap-historic-storm-from-storm-surge-to-snow/2012/10/31/9a7c56d8-2362-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_blog.html

 

Sandy’s unusual development as a tropical system merging with a winter cold front brought high elevations very heavy snowfall – rare even for this time of year. Redhouse, Md. (Garrett County) measured an impressive 28 inches, topping the list for greatest accumulation among the eight states that saw measurable snowfall. Unofficial observations suggest even higher amounts, including more than 28” in Davis, W.Va. In some places, it’s still snowing.

 

Charleston, W. Va. has recorded 10.1” so far, enough to make this October its snowiest on record. Charleston, Elkins and Bluefield all had their snowiest October day Monday, receiving 9.4”, 7”, and 4.7” respectively (source: the Weather Channel).

 

2013

 

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=203#commenttop

 

2. Blizzard in the Plains: The winter storm that struck Wyoming, western South Dakota and Nebraska on Friday and Saturday will go down in the record books as one of the, if not the, most extreme such so early in the season on record for any region in the United States. Rapid City, South Dakota measured 23.1” downtown, the city’s 2nd greatest snowstorm on record (for any month), just falling short of a 25.6” snowfall in April, 1927. The Black saw phenomenal totals with 58.0” reported near Beulah and 55.0” in Lead. This would be the heaviest 24-hour snowfall on record for the state of South Dakota (previous record at Lead with 52" reported on March 14, 1973). The blizzard was accompanied by peak wind gusts to 71 mph at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, 70 mph at Harrison, Nebraska, and 69 mph at Kings Canyon, Wyoming. Snowfall in Wyoming up to 36.0” accumulated in the mountains south of Casper. Casper itself picked up 16.3”, its 10th greatest snowstorm on record (for any month and 3rd greatest October total).

 

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=unr&storyid=97462&source=0

 

The October 3-5, 2013 blizzard will go down in the record books as a mega-storm for the Black Hills Region, and especially so for Rapid City. Below is a summary of the records set by this storm for the National Weather Service Office in Rapid City, SD (NWS East Rapid City)

[PennMan]

Another one...2009. I experienced this one in State College.  5-7" just north of town and extensive tree damage.

 

 

 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
SPOTTER REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
1220 PM EDT FRI OCT 16 2009
THE FOLLOWING ARE UNOFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING THE PAST
24 HOURS FOR THE STORM THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTING OUR REGION.
THIS STORM OCCURRED VERY EARLY IN THE SEASON AND TREES STILL HAD
LEAVES. THE WET...HEAVY NATURE OF THE SNOW CAUSE WIDESPREAD TREE
DAMAGE OVER NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. WIDEPSREAD POWER OUTAGES
ALSO OCCURRED AS THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW DROPPED POWER LINES.
APPRECIATION IS EXTENDED TO HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS...COOPERATIVE
OBSERVERS...SKYWARN SPOTTERS AND MEDIA FOR THESE REPORTS. THIS
SUMMARY IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR HOME PAGE AT WEATHER.GOV/CTP
********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************
LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
(INCHES) MEASUREMENT

PENNSYLVANIA
...BLAIR COUNTY...
ALTOONA 1NE   2.4 700 AM 10/16 COOP
TYRONE    1.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
ALTOONA 1S    1.0 630 AM 10/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
...CENTRE COUNTY...
CENTRE HALL 2W    9.0 700 AM 10/16 NITTANY MT. SUMMIT
PORT MATILDA    6.0 700 AM 10/16 COCORAHS
STORMSTOWN    6.0 600 AM 10/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
PARK FOREST    6.0 700 AM 10/16 LARGE BRANCHES DOWN
PLEASANT GAP    5.0 600 AM 10/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
GRAYS WOODS    5.0 700 AM 10/16 COCORAHS
BOALSBURG    4.9 600 AM 10/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
STATE COLLEGE    4.7 630 AM 10/16 PENN STATE
CLARENCE    4.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
PHILIPSBURG 2S    3.2 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...CLINTON COUNTY...
HANEYVILLE    4.4 1030 PM 10/15 SPOTTER
...ELK COUNTY...
ST. MARYS    3.5 700 AM 10/16 COCORAHS
WILCOX     2.5 700 AM 10/16 COOP
RIDGWAY    1.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...MCKEAN COUNTY...
KANE    5.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...MIFFLIN COUNTY...
LEWISTOWN    1.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...POTTER COUNTY...
GERMANIA    8.0 700 AM 10/16 SPOTTER
COUDERSPORT 7SE    5.5 700 AM 10/16 COOP
ULYSSES    4.0 1015 PM 10/15 MANY TREE LIMBS DOWN
GALETON    3.5 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...SCHUYLKILL COUNTY...
MAHANOY CITY    2.2 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...SULLIVAN COUNTY..
LAPORTE    4.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...TIOGA COUNTY...
WELLSBORO    5.9 700 AM 10/16 COOP
SABINSVILLE   5.6 700 AM 10/16 COOP
COVINGTON    5.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
WESTFIELD 4S    4.5 700 AM 10/16 COCORAHS
COWANESQUE DAM    2.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
...UNION COUNTY...
MIFFLINBURG    1.0 700 AM 10/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
...WARREN COUNTY...
CHANDLERS VALLEY    2.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
WARREN    1.0 700 AM 10/16 COOP
$
TYBURSKI

 

[MikeGold]

Re: Last October's big snow from Sandy..the highest snow totals fell in the mtns along the NC/TN border where at least 36" of snow fell with snow drifts in excess of ten feet: 

 

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/localdat/cases/2012/Sandy_NWflow/Sandy_Snow_Final_13March2013.pdf

[bluewave]

Another one...2009. I experienced this one in State College.  5-7" just north of town and extensive tree damage.

 

 

Thanks, that was another early season record breaker.

 

http://cms.met.psu.edu/sref/severe/2009/15Oct2009.pdf

 

A rare and historic early season snowfall impacted central Pennsylvania on 15-16 October 2009. At the official observation site at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU:STCP1) 4.7 inches of snow was recorded for the date. This broke the old record for the first snow and first inch of snowfall set on 17 October 1977.

[bluewave]

Some more snowfall records set in October 2009:

 

Unusually cold and wet conditions across the middle of the country led to several snowfall records. Cheyenne, Wyoming observed 28 inches of snow during October, making this the city’s snowiest October on record. North Platte, Nebraska recorded 30.3 inches of snowfall, making October 2009 the snowiest month of all months on record for the city. The previous record was 27.8 inches, in March 1912.