Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,588
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    LopezElliana
    Newest Member
    LopezElliana
    Joined

Winter Storm-Upstate NY-2/15-2/16


Recommended Posts

Somebody dropped the ball big time on ROC metro area, I'm seeing videos of people walking on the 490 east on twitter as nobody can go anywhere from 390 to downtown.

 

Or its a weekday and people have to travel to work unless they issue travel bans. The NWS clearly stated 9-18" for Rochester last night. Not sure what more was needed. Maybe up that to 20-24" with recent accumulations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 254
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Or its a weekday and people have to travel to work unless they issue travel bans. The NWS clearly stated 9-18" for Rochester last night. Not sure what more was needed. Maybe up that to 20-24" with recent accumulations.

NWS did their part but local govt failed to do theirs, I'm pretty sure if it was buffalo and conditions were deteriorating like that they'll close those roads in a heartbeat considering what happened in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NWS did their part but local govt failed to do theirs, I'm pretty sure if it was buffalo and conditions were deteriorating like that they'll close those roads in a heartbeat considering what happened in the past.

 

I don't think this event is travel ban worthy and I think they already issued a travel advisory pretty early on in the event. It's tough to issue a travel ban on a workday...The rates are a pretty steady 1-2" per hour which is easy to handle by local crews. It's the 3-5" an hour stuff that is impossible to keep up with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

00
NOUS41 KBUF 161844
PNSBUF
NYZ001>008-010>014-019>021-085-170644-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
SPOTTER REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
144 PM EST TUE FEB 16 2016

********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************

LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
/INCHES/ MEASUREMENT

NEW YORK

...ERIE COUNTY...
LANCASTER 11.0 1100 AM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
ALDEN 9.0 1145 AM 2/16 NWS EMPLOYEE
DEPEW 8.5 100 PM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
TONAWANDA 8.0 1115 AM 2/16 PUBLIC
1 SSW BLASDELL 8.0 1200 PM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
2 WSW CHEEKTOWAGA 8.0 1100 AM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
WEST SENECA 8.0 1100 AM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
3 SSW MARILLA 8.0 1130 AM 2/16 PUBLIC
BUFFALO AIRPORT 7.9 100 PM 2/16 NWS OFFICE
HAMBURG 6.0 1045 AM 2/16 COOP OBSERVER

...GENESEE COUNTY...
CORFU 8.5 100 PM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER

...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...
5 NE GENESEO 16.5 1130 AM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
LIMA 11.5 1153 AM 2/16 PUBLIC

...MONROE COUNTY...
3 W ROCHESTER 16.3 1245 PM 2/16 PUBLIC
ROCHESTER AIRPORT 16.3 100 PM 2/16 ASOS
W IRONDEQUOIT 15.0 1058 AM 2/16 BROADCAST MEDIA
PENFIELD 15.0 1130 AM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
HENRIETTA 15.0 115 PM 2/16 SOCIAL MEDIA
2 NW ROCHESTER 15.0 1245 PM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER
MUMFORD 14.0 1130 AM 2/16 PUBLIC
1 NW BROCKPORT 13.0 1119 AM 2/16 SOCIAL MEDIA
5 W ROCHESTER 12.2 1200 PM 2/16 COCORAHS

...NIAGARA COUNTY...
3 E RANSOMVILLE 7.0 115 PM 2/16 TRAINED SPOTTER

...WYOMING COUNTY...
3 SE ORANGEVILLE CEN 15.0 1230 PM 2/16 COCORAHS


**********************24 HOUR SNOWFALL**********************

LOCATION 24 HOUR TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
/INCHES/ MEASUREMENT

NEW YORK

...ALLEGANY COUNTY...
4 SW WEST ALMOND 2.7 1050 AM 2/16 COCORAHS

...CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY...
2 SW FORESTVILLE 9.5 100 PM 2/16 COCORAHS

...ERIE COUNTY...
3 ENE AMHERST 8.0 1051 AM 2/16 COCORAHS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely, I've never seen anything like this in a winter storm in five years up here. And to think I said Ithaca would never be near the QPF maxima for any big storm...

 

Amazing 'front-end' on this system. The southerly low-level jet & PWs are easy 3-4 standard deviations. Combine that, and integrated WV transport is 4-6 SD's, and headed 'off the charts' as this thing tracks into Canada. In that respect, return interval looks like 30 years or more? Can't say I can recall seeing 850 winds 80+ KT in awhile. 

 

 

850mbne.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No one dropped the ball, that's just what happens when a metro area gets 2 inches an hour. I suppose they could have instituted travel bans, but those also seem to be instituted once the damage is done.

I haven't seen anything like this in awhile. It's really quite awesome. I love a high impact event.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think this event is travel ban worthy and I think they already issued a travel advisory pretty early on in the event. It's tough to issue a travel ban on a workday...The rates are a pretty steady 1-2" per hour which is easy to handle by local crews. It's the 3-5" an hour stuff that is impossible to keep up with.

I don't know what the deal was this morning but the roads were nearly impassable. Cars stuck on flat pavement simply because the snow was so deep. It was coming down fast, Rochester isn't quite as prepared as buffalo for high intensity snow it would seem

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No one dropped the ball, that's just what happens when a metro area gets 2 inches an hour. I suppose they could have instituted travel bans, but those also seem to be instituted once the damage is done.

I haven't seen anything like this in awhile. It's really quite awesome. I love a high impact event.

I-490 Both Directions Snow removal on I-490 both directions from I-390 (Gates) to I-590 (Rochester) all lanes closed Current Speed closed Start Time Feb 16 2016, 1:17 PM Last Updated Feb 16 2016, 1:25 PM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know what the deal was this morning but the roads were nearly impassable. Cars stuck on flat pavement simply because the snow was so deep. It was coming down fast, Rochester isn't quite as prepared as buffalo for high intensity snow it would seem

 

The temps might've had something to do with it? Everyone thinks about the added impacts when it's cold, and salt isn't effective, and when it's windy, with blowing and drifting...but that near-freezing heavy glop can be really nasty to drive through. I'm with you though...not sure what else could have been done. I don't think I would've had the balls to issue a travel ban until it was too late, given the uncertainties. Rochester doesn't get this sort of storm very often, and people get complacent after a winter of easy driving. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We launched a special sounding off the roof of our building here as the snow changed over. It was amazing how quickly we went from Rain to heavy snow here. 

 

Sounding was more or less isothermal from the sfc. to around 800mb. Sfc. temp was 0.2C, 925mb -0.2C, 850mb was around -2C. The roads here are going to be a disaster, with the slushly slop frozen or covered already. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heard people being interviewed from their (stuck) cars this morning, many were saying they hadn't seen conditions like this in 20 years. Would agree that the wetter snow and high rates that struck during the commute were probably a big part of it. Plus, I'm sure people were going too fast on those curvy sections of 490 through the city. Get an accident there, back up the traffic, and with 2-3"/hr rates...no ones going anywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think this event is travel ban worthy and I think they already issued a travel advisory pretty early on in the event. It's tough to issue a travel ban on a workday...The rates are a pretty steady 1-2" per hour which is easy to handle by local crews. It's the 3-5" an hour stuff that is impossible to keep up with.

 

Rates got very heavy during mid-morning, over 2" per hour  and those interstate highways (especially near downtown Rochester) have complex traffic that can back up easily even during fair weather. Buffalo's traffic flow is comparatively simple. I can understand how the situation deteriorated quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know what the deal was this morning but the roads were nearly impassable. Cars stuck on flat pavement simply because the snow was so deep. It was coming down fast, Rochester isn't quite as prepared as buffalo for high intensity snow it would seem

could it also be that synoptic snow is more disruptive than lake effect? its a denser heavier snow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its been an Eastern NY winter so far... :axe:   Its been discussed in other threads about Albany's plight.  Putting aside the fact its not a lake effect city, its still a snowy city in its own right, on par with Worcester and Concord (except ALB does it at 200' instead of almost 1000').  Its just been running into some awful luck for some time now.  One of these winters they'll start getting some decent clippers and coast-huggers again.  I'm down in the city for work today, and it felt like the temp jumped from 31 to the 50's in a matter of minutes...

Albany is 55 degrees right now. That's just so wrong...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

could it also be that synoptic snow is more disruptive than lake effect? its a denser heavier snow.

 

That stuff doesn't compact well, but I don't think it's plowability that caused the issue. Public works engineers will tell you that if you get behind while plowing during a big event and traffic backs up, you're in trouble, because plows can't get through traffic jams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite a temperature swing in a short period of time however.  In a little more than a day I went from near 20 below zero at home, to over 50 degrees now with warm rain.  I think that may have happened once back in 1994 too.  Lots of burst pipes throughout the region today...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...