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1/21/14 Snowstorm Observations


WeatherFox

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No its not, but there are questions about some of the official stations as well.

 

ISP until about 10 years ago was horrible at measuring snow,  They do a much better job now, but I often think that they may have overdone it.  Does any one know where at the airport they measure?  I also wonder often how Upton always comes in near the top of the list.  JFK is in a lousy place for snow, but they often seem to underperform the other underperformers.  I am not sure I trust anyone.

 

The KNYC report for this latest storm seems reasonable based on the radar I saw yesterday.

 

i'll try to ask the tower today...

 

but i live less than 2 miles from the airport and i "only" measured 9.0" this morning... even that, i think is a bit generous; the lowest i had was 7" and the highest was a little less than 10"... i put in 9.0" but OKX didn't include it in their PNS Report... i've been comparing my notes with KISP totals and i'd say 2 out of 3 times, their considerably higher than my totals... could it be that 2miles actually make a difference?? probably but yeah i hear you...

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11" in se Nassau. I am not a trained spotter so I wouldn't report it.

For those that are where is the best place to measure? In an open feild?

11 also a few miles west of you. I am also hesitant at all times to believe anyone's totals but when I have town N, S, E, and W reporting around what I had and then the NWS says I have 3 inches or more less it bugs me. I know my total was as accurate as I could take it. But oh well. It is what it is.

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Kind of surprised at how much blacktop is showing on the primary and many secondary streets around here at 16F.  Maybe the powdery nature of the snow wasn't conducive to building a nice street cake.  Seems whatever Brookhaven town was using was very effective at melting off the surface.  Would have liked and expected to see snowcovered roads for a few days..

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I'm pretty sure I had at least 10" here. I measured in several places away from where wind would contaminate much, and we got absolutely hammered early in the afternoon. Again, there was a big difference the further south you went from Sunrise Highway early in the afternoon. The Lido Beach observer having 10.5" at 10PM makes me a little more confident since a lot of times that reporter is on the low end. The Long Beach reporter had 8.5" as of 8PM. We had more snow after 10PM so 11" or maybe even a bit more is possible.

 

 

I had a shade over 10" in Rockville Centre. The Oceanside report seems a bit suspect. 

 

Great storm, regardless. 

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I had 10.3", but I passed out when there was still very light snow. It may have added a few tenths, it may not have. 

 

BTW, there is really nothing special about being a trained spotter. It's nice to have the title, but all you really have to do is sit through a class to become one. There is no on-site "training" or anything. Thus, trained spotters are not necessarily better than the public -- or at least, going to the class to become one does not really make you better at measuring snow. 

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With my life, maybe, but snowfall is serious stuff ;)

Go easy on the guys out at ISP...after 23 years of underreporting (1984 -2007)...they can afford to go overboard from time to time.

<Wonders if the 12/5/2003 log for MacArthur Field still says a "trace">

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Couldn't agree more...been measuring snow for a long time and most of the time my totals are lower than nearby measurements ,and like you said when I drive around I dont see evidence of those higher totals.

 

I have been measuring a long time at the same location. I feel the same way

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Go easy on the guys out at ISP...after 23 years of underreporting (1984 -2007)...they can afford to go overboard from time to time.

<Wonders if the 12/5/2003 log for MacArthur Field still says a "trace">

 

Agreed.  Compared to most sites, they are solid.  I think the entire month of 12/2003 never happened, at least not on the climo that I have seen.

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Agreed.  Compared to most sites, they are solid.  I think the entire month of 12/2003 never happened, at least not on the climo that I have seen.

I mean think of the 2 old co-ops out here...Patchogue (closed in 1997) and Setauket (ostensibly still open). The former had a tendency to slightly overreport; the latter hasn't reported since around Eisenhower...

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I mean think of the 2 old co-ops out here...Patchogue (closed in 1997) and Setauket (ostensibly still open). The former had a tendency to slightly overreport; the latter hasn't reported since around Eisenhower...

For longevity, the outstanding co-op out here is obviously Bridgehampton and their amazing observer for nine decades...for a great 10 year run...I'd go with Westbury (1980 -1990)...whose record shed some light on the climate of a county whose only prior climatic uniqueness was to be called "the coast" by every outlet in the region, including the former inhabitants of 30 Rock.

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William do you have the updated seasonal snowfall totals? Thank you

We ended up with 10-11 here, that band really crushed us from 6-8pm. This was by far the lightest snow I have ever plowed. It cleaned up like 6 inch storm. Great storm!

Yep it was a great storm Tim...I've got some stuff to do in a bit...but should have them before midnight for you. Take care.

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I mean think of the 2 old co-ops out here...Patchogue (closed in 1997) and Setauket (ostensibly still open). The former had a tendency to slightly overreport; the latter hasn't reported since around Eisenhower...

 

The Setauket snowfall record is sufficiently full of holes to be of little value.  Patchogue actually was a pretty good record.  On the opposite side of the coin from Setauket was the old Babylon coop.  Their snowfall totals for many events would make the slant stickers here blush.  I've always imagined there was a farm there at the time and all of the snowfall measurements were in a drift on the shady side of the barn.

 

Edit: There are some obs from the 1800s for Setauket that have value, if mainly for their rarity.

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are trained spotters required to use a snow board?

 

i've measured snow all my life... never used a snow board, but one thing for sure, dry windy big snowstorms are the absolute worst to measure.  it goes well beyond simple drifting.  every little micro influence (ones undetectable by my eyeballs) exaggerates the amount of snow from spot to spot.  last night i was getting widely varying totals for reasons i simply couldnt identify.  this has happened to me plenty of time before with big, dry windy snows.

 

They seem to prefer use of a snow board, but make allowances for measuring without one:

 

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/coop/reference/Snow_Measurement_Guidelines.pdf

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The Setauket snowfall record is sufficiently full of holes to be of little value.  Patchogue actually was a pretty good record.  On the opposite side of the coin from Setauket was the old Babylon coop.  Their snowfall totals for many events would make the slant stickers here blush.  I've always imagined there was a farm there at the time and all of the snowfall measurements were in a drift on the shady side of the barn.

 

Edit: There are some obs from the 1800s for Setauket that have value, if mainly for their rarity.

Patchogue was an excellent co-op...I just have the feeling that their snow averages were ever so slightly inflated...maybe by say 2 or 3 inches in an average year...they stick out as the only LI station to crack 40 inches during the 1980's (1986-87) and, of course, hold the record for most snow on Long Island in one season...92 inches in 1995-96.

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Hey...long time lurker, did anyone get a final total on Toms River, NJ? Couldnt measure myself cause the drifting was insane. But eyeing it up it looked like 6-8? thanks

 OCEAN COUNTY...

   POINT PLEASANT        12.1   649 AM  1/22  PUBLIC

   BRICK TWP             11.5   745 AM  1/22  TRAINED SPOTTER

   HERBERTSVILLE          9.0   800 AM  1/22  SOCIAL MEDIA

   MANAHAWKIN             8.0   800 AM  1/22  TRAINED SPOTTER

 

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