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January 26-28 Blizzard Observations/Nowcast

Baroclinic Zone

By Baroclinic Zone,
in New England

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ORH_wxman

ORH_wxman

Posted
Posted

Feb '78 was also poorly forecast...Harvey Leonard was actually the first to call that storm...but nobody else did until the storm was actually underway.

 

The poor forecasts also were amplified by the fact that 1978 came in like a wall of heavy snow...it didn't start gradually like Feb 2013 or this week's storm. It was overcast one minute, and ripping at 2-3 inches per hour within 20 minutes. It totally screwed the commute...it started late morning which was the worst timing. Roads became totally clogged with early dismissal commuters.

 

The closest thing we had to '78 for driving impact was December 13, 2007...many of asthetics about the onset were the same...it was a wall of heavy snow and it started in late morning. So everyone had gone to work and school already. The bad part of Dec 13, 2007 was that it was forecased well but people all went to work and school anyway. Luckily in 2007, the storm only lasted 8 hours or it could have been a lot worse.

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Ginx snewx

Ginx snewx

Posted
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That "wall of snow" in '78 was def memorable. I was only 9.5 and it sticks in my memory

it wasn't about infrastructure or snow removal, it was about 5 inches of qpf ,20-30 ft drifts in spots, roads were tunnels, winds were violently more insane even way inland. You know exactly what I mean. The stats aren't the story either. The pics tell the story. Bet kids aren't jumping out of third floor balconies into the snow like we did at URI. You had to be there. Where I live now had 42 inches and I bet in today's measure that's 50 easy.
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FRWEATHA

FRWEATHA

Posted
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In 78 the first flakes started flying around 11 AM here. By about 1:30 it was an all out blizzard. Down here the snow got a little wet at the height so it was like three feet of immovable cement. The weather the week after was beautiful but it was so dense it didn't even melt much. Also the coastal destruction was much greater. It was very similar to the perfect storm.

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Cold Miser

Cold Miser

Posted
Posted

it wasn't about infrastructure or snow removal, it was about 5 inches of qpf ,20-30 ft drifts in spots, roads were tunnels, winds were violently more insane even way inland. You know exactly what I mean. The stats aren't the story either. The pics tell the story. Bet kids aren't jumping out of third floor balconies into the snow like we did at URI. You had to be there. Where I live now had 42 inches and I bet in today's measure that's 50 easy.

What do you mean by this?  Why would it be a different measurement?

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Allsnow

Allsnow

Posted
Posted

lol at trucking out snow. A novel way for DPW 's to get their guys extra work in the winter. Then get money for it from govt. Instead get the side blades and push back the snow as they plow their routes. Cities blow

How is that possible in urban environment? Cars line both side of the street and parking is hard on a sunny day. Side blades are used on wide open highways or country roads...

Cities need every bit of parking space...plus where are the side blades going to push it too? And most of that snow removal is sub contracted out

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tamarack

tamarack

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Got home about 5:45 this afternoon from our visit to family in SNJ.  Hard to judge from the highway at 70 mph, but NNJ/SNY looked like 4-6". near a foot in Danbury, considerably more HFD and up I-84 from there.  Biggest snowbanks were from Mass Pike to PWM, somewhat lesser north of there.  Our driveway had well settled/windpacked snow varying from 17.5" to 20", with most places 18-19", avg 18.5", and a core taken in snow that depth held 2.17" LE.  Since nearby cocorahs obs for the Sat-Sun thing indicate 0.5" snow or less (maybe only T) for my place, essentially all of it was the bliz.  Radar showed an intense but narrow band over my place 3-3:30 yest aft, probably an hour of whiteout, and lots of 20-25 dbz stuff late morn into the evening.  Farmington recorded 22", and given what I found nearly 11 hr after cocorahs obs time, I'd guess a 7 AM measurement would've been 20" or more.  Best January snowstorm to hit my place of residence in my 69 Januarys (with only the 20" from the JFK inaugural storm in NNJ as serious competition), and I was in SNJ watching a 1" event that had been forecasted as 12-16" there.  Had a really great visit with family, though!

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weathafella

weathafella

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How is that possible in urban environment? Cars line both side of the street and parking is hard on a sunny day. Side blades are used on wide open highways or country roads...

Cities need every bit of parking space...plus where are the side blades going to push it too? And most of that snow removal is sub contracted out

Yup. The brigade is in Coolidge Corner tonight and I'm glad.

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