Snowicanes

[CaWx]

I don't post much, but I have often wondered this question for sometime, and there isn't much information out there regarding the possibilities or hypothetical situations. I know these types of situations are extremely rare, maybe on the verge of being a 1 in 500 or even a 1 in 10,000 year event. I have read about the 1804 snow hurricane and even Sandy had some snow associated with its synoptics. With climate change increasing OHC, I'm thinking this makes hypothetical hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico more probable in mid to late November, maybe even someday early December. Also, with the rare chance an arctic PV supplying copious amounts of vodka cold air meets up with an early winter weak hurricane coming up from the moist GOM supplying huge amounts of QPF ( 4-10" of hypothetical moisture). Could the Ohio Valley or NE ever receive 6-10" of QPF in the form of all snow?? Obviously with the looming threat of climate change, outbreaks of severe cold will demish over time, but maybe sometime some place the severe cold from a PV will match up with a flown blown hurricane. Thoughts? Is it even possible for 6-10" of QPF falling as all snow in the Ohio Valley or NE? I know the 1950 great appalachian storm and 1993 superstorm wasn't a hurricane, but those are probably some of the more extreme storms in modern times in the NE US. 

[Hoosier]

This is probably every weather weenie's fantasy.  What you suggested is an extreme scenario that would require a perfect setup to get anything close to those amounts. 

BTW, another example of a tropical system interacting with a mid latitude system and producing snow was in October 1916.  It was a category 2 landfall on the Gulf coast that moved north into IL/IN.

[Sophisticated Skeptic]

It almost happened this year with Matthew.  There were a few runs that were like 7 days out, showing a crippling snowstorm here...and mountains of SNY state.  But the amplified track scenario changed.

[MikeGold]

On 11/30/2016 at 0:18 AM, CaWx said:

I don't post much, but I have often wondered this question for sometime, and there isn't much information out there regarding the possibilities or hypothetical situations. I know these types of situations are extremely rare, maybe on the verge of being a 1 in 500 or even a 1 in 10,000 year event. I have read about the 1804 snow hurricane and even Sandy had some snow associated with its synoptics. With climate change increasing OHC, I'm thinking this makes hypothetical hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico more probable in mid to late November, maybe even someday early December. Also, with the rare chance an arctic PV supplying copious amounts of vodka cold air meets up with an early winter weak hurricane coming up from the moist GOM supplying huge amounts of QPF ( 4-10" of hypothetical moisture). Could the Ohio Valley or NE ever receive 6-10" of QPF in the form of all snow?? Obviously with the looming threat of climate change, outbreaks of severe cold will demish over time, but maybe sometime some place the severe cold from a PV will match up with a flown blown hurricane. Thoughts? Is it even possible for 6-10" of QPF falling as all snow in the Ohio Valley or NE? I know the 1950 great appalachian storm and 1993 superstorm wasn't a hurricane, but those are probably some of the more extreme storms in modern times in the NE US. 

I guess I wouldn't describe Sandy has having "some snow associated with its synoptics" unless you think 3 feet is some!

http://www.weather.gov/media/gsp/localdat/cases/2012/Sandy_Snow_Final_13March2013.pdf

I think any theoretical snow hurricane in the US  would take a path similar to Sandy coming directly in off the Atlantic.  Considering the cyclonic flow around it and the need to have a cold NW wind during the Fall to be cold enough for snow,  the best possible scenario is having the moisture slammed against the highest elevation possible..which happens to be located along the TN/NC line.  (The mountains in New England would be another possibility such as the 48" that fell in Vermont in 1804.) 

Perhaps instead of 3.5" inches of QPF...higher totals could have be realized if a Sandy like storm traveled a little slower or took a Westward path a little further South to better target the TN/NC mountains.  Hurricane force winds in the higher elevations can be easily maintained even if it is otherwise a tropical storm in the lower elevations. 

 

 

 

 

[HailMan06]

If we're going by technically I don't think it would be possible. Any amount of snow introduced into the storm indicates a significant difference in temperature with one side cold enough for frozen precip, meaning baroclinity is present. A pure tropical cyclone (hurricane) is only barotropic (lacks weather fronts), so a hypothetical snowacane would never be a true hurricane but more of a hybrid a la Sandy.