Best Mid-Atlantic winter storm of the last 40 years

[EastCoast NPZ]

Long live the blizzard of '96!  All hail the king!

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

'96/ Not even close. 

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

1993 was suppose to be 24-36" and it ended up sleeting 4" and it was 12-13" total. 

[EastCoast NPZ]

We'd be remiss if we failed to mention the great cirrus storm of December 2018.  What a storm!!

[EastCoast NPZ]

Just now, AfewUniversesBelowNormal said:

1993 was suppose to be 24-36" and it ended up sleeting 4" and it was 12-13" total. 

Bust.  March storms suck.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

haha '96 and Snowmageddon part 1 are tied again!

[MillvilleWx]

Well, I broke the tie lol. Kind of surprised I never voted yet going this long. Any who, I voted for Feb 5-6, 2010 because it was incredible to follow for the days leading up and boy did it deliver. 32.5" later at my old home north of Baltimore. Most snow I ever saw until 2016. That storm was incredible in terms of impact. Feb 9-10 will always have a special place in my heart for the blizzard conditions occurring during the height with 40-50" base around my neighborhood. Not sure I'll ever see that much snow at once where I live ever again. Magical. 2016 might have been my biggest snowfall, but I was working during the event and really stressed out, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked. I'll certainly never forget it. 

As far as pure impact goes, Feb 2006 is not up there with the big guns, but with regards to impact on me, it was the storm that made my decision to become a meteorologist instead of going for a major in accounting. I was in HS deciding where to go to school, and that storm made me realize how much I wanted to become a meteorologist and forecast the weather, fulfilling my dream of working with the Weather Service. Now, here I am, 12 years later doing what I aspired. That storm, and it's 4.75"/hr rates, thunder and lightning, and measuring in shorts and snow boots will always be etched in my mind. 

 

[PrinceFrederickWx]

Poll update: I removed the February 1994 ice storm (since it only had one vote) as well as the "Other" option- this cleans it up and gets us down to an even top ten once again.

[southmdwatcher]

PD1 is the best ever for me. Incredible snowfall rates, extreme drifting, almost zero visibility with strong winds for multiple hours(could barely see the house 100ft across the street) and the vehicles were only noticed as bumps in the snow. Very cold temperatures and 3 to 5 inch per hour snow fall rates predawn and through mid morning. We were out of school for the entire week. Everyone on the street had to shovel out the road. Vehicles would not start until the snow that was tightly packed under the hoods was knocked out and had a chance to melt over the next few days. It was awesome seeing drifts up to the second floor windows and playing in tunnels that we could stand up in as a 12 year old. 

[Fozz]

3 hours ago, MillvilleWx said:

Well, I broke the tie lol. Kind of surprised I never voted yet going this long. Any who, I voted for Feb 5-6, 2010 because it was incredible to follow for the days leading up and boy did it deliver. 32.5" later at my old home north of Baltimore. Most snow I ever saw until 2016. That storm was incredible in terms of impact. Feb 9-10 will always have a special place in my heart for the blizzard conditions occurring during the height with 40-50" base around my neighborhood. Not sure I'll ever see that much snow at once where I live ever again. Magical. 2016 might have been my biggest snowfall, but I was working during the event and really stressed out, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked. I'll certainly never forget it. 

As far as pure impact goes, Feb 2006 is not up there with the big guns, but with regards to impact on me, it was the storm that made my decision to become a meteorologist instead of going for a major in accounting. I was in HS deciding where to go to school, and that storm made me realize how much I wanted to become a meteorologist and forecast the weather, fulfilling my dream of working with the Weather Service. Now, here I am, 12 years later doing what I aspired. That storm, and it's 4.75"/hr rates, thunder and lightning, and measuring in shorts and snow boots will always be etched in my mind. 

How well do you remember PDII? That one was also huge, and it was the first HECS that I remember well (I was way too young in 1996).

[MillvilleWx]

How well do you remember PDII? That one was also huge, and it was the first HECS that I remember well (I was way too young in 1996).

I remember it like it was yesterday. I also remember not being able to play in it due to a severe ankle sprain I got 5 days before the storm. I watched it all unfold from the inside of my house. It was crazy watching all the news reports and hummers getting stuck in the snow. Great storm. Wish I could’ve went out in it more, but life happens


.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

If we get a HECS after February 19 this year I cannot add it to the poll (over 40 years!) 

[showmethesnow]

6 hours ago, southmdwatcher said:

PD1 is the best ever for me. Incredible snowfall rates, extreme drifting, almost zero visibility with strong winds for multiple hours(could barely see the house 100ft across the street) and the vehicles were only noticed as bumps in the snow. Very cold temperatures and 3 to 5 inch per hour snow fall rates predawn and through mid morning. We were out of school for the entire week. Everyone on the street had to shovel out the road. Vehicles would not start until the snow that was tightly packed under the hoods was knocked out and had a chance to melt over the next few days. It was awesome seeing drifts up to the second floor windows and playing in tunnels that we could stand up in as a 12 year old. 

Has to be my favorite as well. Most on here are too young/not born yet to understand what they missed. Insane rates, wind, thunder snow. Had drifts that I haven't seen equaled since. Was a surprise storm as well where they were only calling for flurries the night before. Woke up to maybe 6 inches on the ground with white out conditions. Was a few days before my 15th B-Day and was by far the biggest snow I had ever experienced up to that point (the 70's were total crap). Added bonus  was that it was on a Monday and they called schools for the whole week.

[southmdwatcher]

PD1 is by far the best in my backyard winter storm, but I have seen all of the storms mentioned since the mid 70's. January 25 2000 is the all time best surprise storm....forecast of flurries in our area after mentioning the chance of a large snow storm the previous week.....well we went from flurries to well over a foot in my backyard. I had a friend on the east side of Charlotte NC call that morning barking that he was suppose to play golf and it was suppose to be 50 and they had heavy snow and got 10 plus inches. The next few weeks of Winter was great that season, since I spent most of my time in North Carolina after their greatest snow storm.

Superstorm 93 holds a strong spot for amongst the greatest ever events...I was traveling that weekend. That may have been the most hyped storm I have ever witnessed and it was modeled pretty accurately from 7+ days out as a tremendously dangerous event for the Eastern 1/3 of the country. ...I personally saw 4 to 6 inches of snow in Richmond fall the first evening then change to rain and high wind as the storm passed overhead. Temperatures the night before were around 30 degrees, the next day at Noon were in the mid to upper 40's with heavy rain and strong winds in Richmond as everyone at home had sleet and heavy snow.

After 4pm in Richmond, the rain and wind stopped, the building I was in you could see the outside and it became much brighter and no winds. Truly we were in the calm of the storm. Within 30 minutes the winds became strong once again from the opposite direction and it was snowing. Within two hours the temperatures fell from the 40's to below freezing and snow was falling, the flash freeze was underway. Within another 90 minutes it was in the upper teens. Snow was once again accumulating on the west side of Richmond.

Afterwards, I had numerous friends that could not get home to the western Carolinas from Richmond....aside from the PD1 storm experience.....this was incredible. Driving home the next day up 301 was an endless effort of dodging downed trees...this was mid March. The ground in DC area was packed with sleet and snow that entire week.

[Fozz]

7 hours ago, MillvilleWx said:

I remember it like it was yesterday. I also remember not being able to play in it due to a severe ankle sprain I got 5 days before the storm. I watched it all unfold from the inside of my house. It was crazy watching all the news reports and hummers getting stuck in the snow. Great storm. Wish I could’ve went out in it more, but life happens

Ouch, sorry that happened. I also watched it from inside for the most part. Around mid-morning on the 16th, I went out to try getting some logs for the fireplace (we lived in the woods back then) but then the snow was too heavy so I just stayed inside for the rest of the day and watched it pile up. It was an incredible sight.

[Sparky]

PD II (25.5" IMBY) was the storm that could have eclipsed the Blizz of '96 (30") in my backyard if it weren't for the changeover to sleet Sunday night for several hours.  I figure it would easily have reached 35"+ if all snow.  But every other thing about that storm was plain boring compared to '96.   There was very little wind, little drifting, and even the snowfakes were small and unimpressive to watch falling.  The flakes in '96 were smallish too, but not quite as small.  But '96 had some kickass wind on Sunday evening and through the night into Monday morning which gave it a genuine blizzard look and feel.  Drifting was about as impressive as I have ever seen.  Mind you it is pitch black at night where I live but whenever I flicked on the floodlights on Sunday night to see the action all I could see was a sideways curtain of snow blowing around the house.  I could barely see the darkness of the woods that lie about 100 feet in the back.  The only other storm that gave me that '96 look and feel was the 2/10/10 blast (27" IMBY) which had much larger dendrites to enjoy and was compressed into a shorter period of time with heavier rates.  2/10/10 was like a blend of '96 winds (though not as intense) and PD1 (Feb 79) snow rates.   PD 1 is still the rates king though.  That's when I saw 10" in a 3 hour continuous period which I haven't seen beaten since with a total of about 20" in the end.

[jaydreb]

In January 1996 I was 20 years old and and home from college for winter break at my house in Central NJ (Monmouth County).  The Blizzard of 1996 was the most snow I have ever seen from a single storm.  We got about 30" from that storm. 

I moved to the DC area the next year.  The most snow I received from a single storm since I've been in this area was in 2016 when I got about 26". 

The most snow I ever had on the ground at one time, however, was after the 2/10/10 storm.  We had gotten about 24" from the 2/6 storm and then another 12" on 2/10 (along with wind and blowing snow).

I voted for '96 simply because it was the most snow I had ever seen from a single storm.  If the February 2010 storms were combined into a single entry I would have voted for that.

[EastCoast NPZ]

When would we ever again see 3 feet of snow and temps that stayed below freezing for a week, and in low sun season?  The answer:  never.  '96 eats snowmageddon and defecates PD1 and 2.

[Eskimo Joe]

So many great stories ITT...absolutely love it.  Helps us get through these dark times.

[87storms]

1996 was the mid atlantic mother ship event, but 2016 was the best snowstorm from start to finish.  i stayed in the light snow during the lull so that helped.  it's probably my #1 storm now, simply because there was little if any sleet.  just a good ole fashioned blizzard.  96 and 03 round out my top 3 with feb '10 a close 4th.  i do flip flop on these rankings, so ask me in a year and these might be shuffled primarily because they were all great in their own way.

[tplbge]

I would vote Snowmageddon Part I second behind 96, mainly because I lost power for 3 days and had to listen to the Superbowl on battery powered radio.  I would vote 3rd for January 25, 2000.  Any storm that busts high deserves high marks, even if we didn't get 20 inches of snow.  I remember hearing about getting pretty much nothing on the 6pm newscasts that night.

By 7:30pm, radar hallucinations turned into reality.  I remember calling my sister with these words at that point..."Go to the store now". 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Wow.  This is a tough one and I don't even think I can vote at this time for a "best" event.  They were all great in their own way and had their own life, so to speak.  I was not here for the ones prior to PD-II (I moved to the area in summer 2001), but I certainly heard a fair bit about PD-I in 1979, Feb. 1983, Superstorm March 1993, and the Jan. 1996 blizzard.  I was in northeast Ohio during March 1993, we had blizzard conditions, temperatures in the teens, and got about 8-12" snow (southeast OH got close to 2 feet I believe).  In Jan. 1996 I was in Atlanta in graduate school, we got a lot of rain from that followed by an inch or two of crusty snow and cold temperatures for a few days after.

Anyhow, in terms of sheer snow accumulation only for the area I live in (near suburbs of northwest DC, in MD), the Jan. 22-23, 2016 blizzard and Snowmageddon 2010 top the list (I measured 24.0" from the 2016 storm and 23.5 from Snowmageddon in 2010).  But taken as a whole, Snowmageddon plus the Feb. 9-10 blizzard a few days later in 2010 would probably top my list...though that's technically two storms and not one.  I still recall going to bed late on Feb. 9, thinking it might be a bust, after we transitioned to freezing drizzle and some sleet after a couple inches or so of snow.  I woke up the next morning around 7AM, fully expecting nothing...only to be greeted by whiteout conditions when I looked out the window.  That was amazing, and lasted into the mid-afternoon.

Actually, the 12-day period from Jan. 30-Feb. 10, 2010 is perhaps the most concentrated, snowy period I have ever experienced in my life (and I've lived through some snowy/cold winters in Ohio).  Four warning-level events in that time:  Jan. 30, Feb. 2, Feb. 5-6, and Feb. 9-10 was unreal, and two of those were genuine HECS.  And we came damn close to another warning-level event around Presidents' Day that year, I recall, at least there was some possibility of that for awhile (we ended up with light snow but not a lot).

The one thing about 2009-10, I've always thought the first HECS...Dec. 18-19, 2009 ("Snowpocalypse")...kind of got overshadowed by February that winter.  By that time, everyone was talking about those two events separated by mere days, with hardly a mention of the December event.  Which now, seems surreal that we could even do that!  The December storm was near perfect (I got 20.0" from that one) in terms of temperatures and snow.  And there was sheer excitement about that storm, as it was really the first true HECS in the DC area since PD-II in 2003 (yes, I know some areas got significant amounts from other events, e.g., Feb. 2006, but I'm talking area-wide DC/VA/MD region getting HECS-level snow).

[PrinceFrederickWx]

@Always in Zugzwang

I often wonder what it would have been like had the Dec ‘09 storm occurred in a different winter altogether (or if 09/10 had Snowpocalypse but not Snowmageddon). How would our opinions have changed?

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

@PrinceFrederickWx ...I wonder the same thing.  If that were a "one hit wonder" winter, or if there were no other events close to as significant that year, would that event be viewed a bit differently.  Not that I'd trade anything from 2009-10 at all, mind you, haha!  But like I said, the fact that the Dec. 2009 event could almost be an "afterthought" or "one of the big-3" by mid-February of that winter is surreal and a true testament to how record-breaking that year was.  Will we see the likes of that again?

Upon thinking of things more, I'd still have to say the most impactful and significant event in my lifetime was the "White Hurricane" that hit Ohio and other parts of the Midwest/Great Lakes, on Jan. 26-27, 1978.  No, the snow was not record-breaking or even all that incredible where I was in northeast Ohio (6-12", there about).  But truly dangerous and severe blizzard conditions for a full day, with wind gusts pushing 70-100 MPH and temperatures in the single-digits.  Not to mention the record-breaking low pressure over a large area (957 mb as it passed right over Cleveland, into Lake Erie and eventually southern Canada).  The temperature dropped 30 degrees in a 2-hour period between 4-6 AM that morning.  All that coupled with the fact that it occurred in the second of two very cold and snowy winters in the eastern U.S.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

96 and Snowmageddon 1 are tied again!

[Woodbridge02]

1 hour ago, PrinceFrederickWx said:

96 and Snowmageddon 1 are tied again!

Breaking the tie in favor of Snowmageddon 1. That storm was absolutely insane - the fourth snowstorm I remember (3/1/09, 12/19/09, 1/30/10 being the other three). Power was out all through our neighborhood for days due to the heavy wet snow. If I remember it went back on briefly and was knocked out again by the second storm. Subdivision roads were blocked for at least 3 days and we had to stay in the basement because the rest of the house was freezing. I remember measuring 26" total at the end of the storm. Also I wasn't alive for the 1996 storm but even if I was I would probably still be voting for 2010. 

[tplbge]

On 12/22/2018 at 12:39 PM, LortonWx said:

Breaking the tie in favor of Snowmageddon 1. That storm was absolutely insane - the fourth snowstorm I remember (3/1/09, 12/19/09, 1/30/10 being the other three). Power was out all through our neighborhood for days due to the heavy wet snow. If I remember it went back on briefly and was knocked out again by the second storm. Subdivision roads were blocked for at least 3 days and we had to stay in the basement because the rest of the house was freezing. I remember measuring 26" total at the end of the storm. Also I wasn't alive for the 1996 storm but even if I was I would probably still be voting for 2010. 

I was alive for 96 and voted for 96.  Come on, we need another tie here.  To be the top, you have to be snowing for 3 days.  Only 2 storms listed here have that.  Plus, we got another 6-12 inches on the Friday after that.  The date for the Blizz of 96 was Jan 6-8, btw. #weekendrule

[Eskimo Joe]

Feb 5-6, 2010 is #1 for me. My wife and I were enrolled at Millersville University at the time. The night before the storm she asked me out on AOL IM. Then the 00z Feb 5th guidance started rolling in and showed we were going to get smoked and I was on Cloud 9. After that came the 2nd Feb 2010 event. 12 years later, I've endured a lot of busted snow storms but they pale in comparison to the friendship I have with her as my wife. 

[Jebman]

GB 16, January 22-23, 2016, hands down. Dale City got demolished with 27 inches of snow and I wound up digging snow for days and days. All the neighbors demanded Jebman Standards lol. I never realized so damn many of them read American Wx. I made some money. They demanded Jebman Standards, I demanded top dollar. This was a Win/Win situation. There was so much snow, the plows were just bouncing off the pack lmao! I laughed at them then later, they plowed me right in with a nice ice berm. Overnight the snow froze, that they plowed and I was forced to chip thru that 5 foot icy snow berm. Boy did my neighbors kid me about wanting snow!

[RodneyS]

On 2/1/2015 at 1:21 PM, TJ3 said:

If everyone taking this poll was alive and had a good memory of PD 1 there would be no need for a poll. It's not even close.

Since today is the 43rd anniversary of PD 1 (it actually began on Sunday afternoon and evening, February 18, 1979 with 4.7 inches of snow at DCA, but 14.0 inches fell on the morning of February 19th), I thought I would weigh in with my memory of that event.  When I went to bed on Sunday evening in my apartment in Reston, Virginia, the forecast was for about 6 inches total.  When I first looked out the window Monday morning at my apartment parking lot,  I wondered if my eyes were deceiving me because I could not see my car!  It was an electrifying moment that is still frozen in my mind. 

Many huge storms have come and gone since, but none have come close to matching that moment.