Top 5(ish) New England Weather events

[HoarfrostHubb]

Just was pondering what event have shaped my weather views.  This is a pretty  thread but here are 5 of mine (no particular order)

Rocktober 2011 Snowstorm (22” here)

April Fools Blizzard (36”) 1997

Hurricane Gloria

2008 Ice Storm

1978 Blizzard 4 feet, Hurricane winds

Go!

[Torch Tiger]

Many there that would shape any wx weenie.

For me..Bob, Gloria, June 95, 1993 superstorm, Aug 2000 (I was older but, the first time driving through a nocturnal supercell was pretty scary)

[OceanStWx]

I'm pretty comfortable with Bob, 7/23/08 RI tornado, and Feb '13 blizzard.

While I missed the best parts of the storms October 2011 and Sandy for the shear anomaly were pretty cool.

[Hoth]

July '89 Hamden tornado and Blizzard of '93 sealed my fate as a weenie. Feb '13 blizzard, 1717 Part II in Jan/Feb 2015, Sandy, October '11, Springfield-Brimfield tornado. Maybe throw in March '12 torch for good measure. 

[dendrite]

The great high pressure of Feb 1981.

[Modfan]

Blizzard of 78

2011 October Snow Storm

2004/2005 (not sure exactly which year) October flooding

Tropical Storm Irene

2008 Ice Storm

 

[dendrite]

No particular order...

Mar 93
Oct 11
Mar 01
Dec 08

Torn on 5th...May 06 rain, Jan 98, Feb 94, Jul 95 heat, Jan 94 cold, Gloria 85, April Fool's 97, Feb 01, Jan 11...

Tough one

[CT Valley Snowman]

1.  Rocktober snowbomb:  13.5 inches of destructive cement on leafed trees, massive tree damage/ power outages. 

2.  June 2011 tornado : Passed just north, impacted family and friends. Saw the aftermath firsthand.

3.  Blizzard Nemo: 2 feet, crazy wind and drifts, epic death band was worse just to my south. 

4.  July 2015 Maine microburst.  Damaging microburst sent us home early from our vacation at the family cabin in Mount Vernon Maine.  

5.  Feb 5 2001 snowstorm:  forecasted 6-10 inches on the day of storm,  got 2 feet in 12 hours. 

Honorable Mention: Jan 11 blizzard, Hurricane Gloria. 

  

  

 

[StormSurge]

1. Hurricane Bob

2. Blizzard of 2013

3. Hurricane Gloria

4. Irene/Sandy

5. FI Tornado

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

The great high pressure of Feb 1981.

lol.  Feb heat wave (CAR +14.7 for the month)  St. John and Allagash ice runs.

My top 5 (with then-current residence):

Jan 1998 ice storm  (Gardiner)
April 1987 Kennebec flood  (Gardiner)
April 1982 blizzard   (Fort Kent)
Bob (Gardiner)
Feb. 2, 1976 SE gale (Fort Kent)   Temp 44 to -6 in 5 hr,  CAR 957 mb,  BGR 200 cars drowned as Penobscot estuary rises 15 feet in 15 minutes, Stonington gust 110+.

Honorable mentions (both New Sharon):  Dec 6-7, 2003 (24" blizz), Pi Day 2017 (2nd strongest blizz after 4/82)

[HoarfrostHubb]

That 2/2/76 gale is insane.  Makes Tip’s Fox Hall event seem tame

[dendrite]

11 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

That 2/2/76 gale is insane.  Makes Tip’s Fox Hall event seem tame

Pretty nasty.

CAR,1976-02-02 15:00,KCAR 021500Z 16016G25KT 4SM RA OVC008 09/07 A2848 RMK RB25 PRESFR PK WND 1533/11/ SLP650 P0001 8/7// T00890072 57073
CAR,1976-02-02 17:35,KCAR 021735Z 18020G36KT 7SM -RA BKN012 OVC020 A2825 RMK PRESFR SLPNO
CAR,1976-02-02 18:00,KCAR 021800Z 18018G36KT 7SM -RA BKN012 OVC020 06/02 A2825 RMK PK WND 1848/02/ HUL SLP572 P0010 60043 4/015 8/72/ T00560022 56076
CAR,1976-02-02 19:00,KCAR 021900Z 25025G36KT 5SM -SN BKN012 OVC020 01/M02 A2834 RMK RESB40 PRESRR PK WND 2450/32 LOWEST PRES SLP601 P0001 8/755 T00061016 55072
CAR,1976-02-02 20:00,KCAR 022000Z 25026KT 5SM -SN SCT012 SCT020 OVC050 M08/M13 A2854 RMK SE15B42 PRESRR PK WN # 2542/17 SLP673 T10771132
CAR,1976-02-02 21:00,KCAR 022100Z 23030G48KT 7SM SCT012 OVC020 M12/M17 A2871 RMK SLP731 T11221172
CAR,1976-02-02 22:00,KCAR 022200Z 23030G45KT 7SM SCT012 OVC020 M15/M20 A2882 RMK PRESRR PK WND 2345/52 SLP771 T11491205
CAR,1976-02-02 22:25,KCAR 022225Z 24024G34KT 21/2SM -SHSN OVC010 A2887 RMK SB15 PRESRR SLPNO
CAR,1976-02-02 23:00,KCAR 022300Z 24030G46KT 7SM SCT020 OVC045 M17/M23 A2890 RMK SB15E45 PRESRR PK WND 2446/52 SLP798 T11661227
CAR,1976-02-02 23:25,KCAR 022325Z 24032G48KT 1SM -SHSN -BLSN OVC010 A2891 RMK SB20 SLPNO
CAR,1976-02-03 00:00,KCAR 030000Z 24024G35KT 1SM -SHSN -BLSN OVC010 M19/M25 A2896 RMK SB20 PRESRR PK WND 2448/22 49 90415 RADAT ZERO SLP818 60001 78501 T11891250 52085
CAR,1976-02-03 00:23,KCAR 030023Z 24026KT 3SM -BLSN OVC040 A2900 RMK SE10 SLPNO
CAR,1976-02-03 01:00,KCAR 030100Z 25028G47KT 15SM OVC040 M22/M30 A2904 RMK PRESRR PK WND 2547/53 SLP845 T12161299

 

Pushing 50F around noon and then -7F with 55mph gusts in the evening.

[dendrite]

Cold front of yore

CON,1976-02-02 12:00,KCON 021200Z 28010KT 1/2SM +RA FG OVC010 02/02 A2853 RMK LOW/65468 20088 43533 SLP664 P0015 60007 70087 4/007 8/7// T00170017 59004
CON,1976-02-02 13:00,KCON 021300Z 29018KT 2SM -RASN FG OVC010 00/00 A2850 RMK LOW/SB38 SLP653 P0019 T00000000
CON,1976-02-02 13:56,KCON 021356Z 28014KT 1SM -SN FG OVC005 A2854 RMK DAY COR ALSTG 991 SLPNO 8/300
CON,1976-02-02 14:00,KCON 021400Z 29018G29KT 1/2SM SN FG OVC004 M01/M01 A2855 RMK PK WND 2929/52 SLP659 P0002 T10101010
CON,1976-02-02 15:00,KCON 021500Z 27019G35KT 4SM -SN BKN007 OVC015 M06/M07 A2869 RMK LOW PRESRR/35422 1711/;CON SLP702 P0001 T10561067 520/1
CON,1976-02-02 18:00,KCON 021800Z 25018G30KT 2SM -SHSN OVC010 M16/M17 A2908 RMK PRESRRXPK WND 2632/30/99132 SLP851 P0001 60049 T11561172 59002

[ORH_wxman]

CAR going from +1C to -8C in one hour I impressive on the '76 cold front. 

[tamarack]

3 hours ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Holy moly. That's insane. 

Probably peaked about 10' above MHW, though I've not read anything official.  That SSE wind was trying to push all of Penobscot Bay up the river.  Of the 200 or so cars flooded (and totaled - BGR temp dropped from 57 to 1 that afternoon/eve), only a single car had been occupied.  The woman climbed onto the roof (BDN had a dramatic pic) and a fellow swam out and made the rescue.  Just like Hollywood, they got married about 6 months later.  (AKAIK, they were strangers at the time of the flood.)

We'd had a lesser thaw (43F, 0.20" RA) just 6 days earlier which froze up many culverts, so the ice holes on roads were challenging.  Heard news that one in Baker Brook, NB, about 7 miles from Ft. Kent, was deep enough to snare a log truck.  That 1st year in FK had as much wx drama as any 2 other years:

1/1:  Moved to FK.
1/12:  -41, welcome to the St. John Valley.  (9th-13th avg minima -34)
2/2:  Groundhog gale.
5/7:  1.5" snow in 45 minutes as I tilled the garden.
8/10:  6" RA from the remains of Belle, nearly washed away neighbor's house, ruins our garden.  Backyard looked like river bottom stones/gravel.
11/14:  (not exactly weather, but snow OG helped)  1st Maine deer.  Lo-o-o-ng drag
12/26-30:  36" in 2 storms, 2nd of which accompanied the last 370 miles driving home from family Christmas in NJ.
 

CAR going from +1C to -8C in one hour I impressive on the '76 cold front. 

My 5-hr drop from +7C to -21C blows away any other CF of my experience.

 

[Walpole Joe]

in order

Blizzard of 78 by wide margin....never to be surpassed 

 

April Fools 1997 

Perfect Storm in 91, not as bad as east facing massachustts, but living in narrangansett and seeing things I had never seen before...high tides and fishing boats in Galilee higher than I had ever seen

Hurricane Belle in 76......I was 9 years old and had no idea what to expect, but mom and dad remembered '38 and the hurricanes of the 50's, so I thought it would be devastating: it wasn't and I was dissapointed by Belle

August 1975, 104 degrees in PVD....my mom was a nurse and working that day,  I remember complaining to my dad that it was too hot 

honorable mention is the 78 combo of the ice storm and the 21 inches in January, before the blizzard

[mreaves]

In VT

1927 Flood

1938 Hurricane

1998 Ice Storm

2007 VDay Snowstorm

2011 TS Irene

I listed the first two even though I obviously wasn’t around because they had such a profound impact that I remember hearing stories growing up from people who were there and seeing remnants of the damage from them. They were the two biggest weather events of the 20th century. 

[NECT]

Blizzard of '78.

2013 Blizzard, coupled with the snow depths that winter.

October snow followed by Irene. Close to two weeks without power in a couple months.

October 2005 flooding. Memorable because several roads in town were flooded, and I've never seen that around here before or since.

1973 ice storm...I have only vague memories of using a runner sled in my yard.....those things are useless without ice.

 

 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

1) Blizzard of 78 (I was 10 and school was cancelled for a week!)

2) April Fool s 97 (Awesomeness!)

3) January 2005 Blizzard (30"+ in Cambridge)

4) October 2011 Snow Storm (Freak storm)

5) Hurricane Irene (Western New England flooding was surreal)

Runner up:  Feb 2013

I've had several personal severe weather episodes that have been personally mind blowing but were isolated so I went with the historic stuff.  

[HIPPYVALLEY]

Just now, HIPPYVALLEY said:

1) Blizzard of 78 (I was 10 and school was cancelled for a week!)

2) April Fool s 97 (Awesomeness!)

3) January 2005 Blizzard (30"+ in Cambridge)

4) October 2011 Snow Storm (Freak storm)

5) Hurricane Irene (Western New England flooding was surreal)

Runners up:  Feb 2013, Hurricane Gloria

I've had several personal severe weather episodes that have been personally mind blowing but were isolated so I went with the historic stuff.  

 

[j24vt]

1. Irene

2. Irene

3. Irene

4. Irene

5 Ice storm in 2008

[Fozz]

There's only one on my list that I experienced in New England: the Feb 2013 blizzard.

Hopefully I'll soon have more to add now that I'm most likely here to stay.

[Torch Tiger]

19 hours ago, Hoth said:

July '89 Hamden tornado and Blizzard of '93 sealed my fate as a weenie. Feb '13 blizzard, 1717 Part II in Jan/Feb 2015, Sandy, October '11, Springfield-Brimfield tornado. Maybe throw in March '12 torch for good measure. 

I don't remember the '89 one, was on Cape Cod. However August 1992 in Falmouth MA, around the 12th? was pretty good. Lots of hail and lightning strikes for several hours. Wind damage, flooding. Top 20 for me in SNE, especially on that broken wx island.

[CoastalWx]

5 influential events for me.  Not in order. 

1) Gloria. This storm excelled my passion for weather. Just remember watching trees bending like I’ve never seen before. The stratus was flying by. 

2) Blizzard 96. This finally broke the 2’ cherry after being screwed in December 92 and just missing the Feb 94 long duration event. 

3) 4/1/97. I still haven’t had a storm that left me in awe like that one did. 

4) January 2005. Most intense winds in combo with snow rates and temps I’ve seen. 

5) May 1996 Brockton area macroburst. While I didn’t get to directly experience it, it tore through the city and suburbs. The damage I saw was astounding. 

[ORH_wxman]

I'll do it by type of event:

Snowstorm: December 1992 with close to 3 feet of high water content snow....it would speak for itself back in the ORH hills regardless of when it occurred....but the fact it was the storm "that broke the snow drought" made it even more memorable. It was the first double digit snow event at ORH since January 1988. The longest stretch on record there. What a way to break the streak. 

Ice storm: December 2008. About an inch and a half of ice at 31F. Amazing event. Most people posting on here were on the forums for this one so they've seen all the pics and such even if they didn't directly experience it. Can't match January 1998 up in NNE but basically no ice storm can. 

Severe: The May 31, 1998 macroburst at ORH. Produced a 104mph wind gust at holy cross. Just shy of 100mph at ORH airport. I was legit scared it was a tornado when I heard the winds starting to whistle while under a tornado warning. Made it to basement as we heard a massive crack. 3 foot diameter tree broke next to us. 

Tropical: Chased Irene on the Cape with Phil and we got sustained around 60mph with gusts near hurricane force. Pretty good all things considered. Slim pickens in New England the past 2-3 decades. Bob in '91 had some pretty good flooding but not great winds back inland. 

Heat: Probably July 1995 only because of the dewpoints with it. It wasn't as intense as 2011 but it was more uncomfortable. 

Cold: January 2004 if we're going on combo of longevity and pure misery. Thin snow pack and brutal winds. If we're going on just shear peak magnitude it's Valentines Day 2016....absolutely brutal. Only lasted about 36 hours but it was epically intense. Froze our shower drain for over a day. January 1994 gets a mention of throw some wintry appeal deep snowpack into the equation....and the lowest daytime max of 1F. Recently tied this past January. 

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

May 2018 EF1 

The great dew depression of summer 2018

Halloween 2011 snowstorm

[geo1]

Geez no mention of the epic Period in 2014/2015 or is this just singular storms?

My list:

Blizzard of 78, 10 years old living in Medford MA. We had like 2 weeks off from school. Taking groceries up to my grandparents house via toboggan. Jumping off the Garage into piles of snow. Great times!

 

Gloria:

Way over performed in my hood trees uprooted. Fence in the back yard found 6 houses away in a million pieces. First time I had actually liked a dorm in the non winter month’s.

 

The aforementioned period of 2014/2015! (Have to clump the period together on my list cause it never seemed to end.)

Easily the tallest snowbanks I have ever seen(Wilmington MA.) Also driving around and into Boston was nearly impossible for a good 3 weeks so satellite work was needed. And that was no joke.

 

April fools!

 

was an awesome storm but broke my snowblower! Dropped a few spots on my list:/

 

 

This past 2 months!!

 

Can not remember a better stretch of weather.

 

 

 

[OceanStWx]

15 minutes ago, geo1 said:

Geez no mention of the epic Period in 2014/2015 or is this just singular storms?

I mean I don't think it counts if I only lived through Scooter running naked through the streets does it?

I could add the 10/18/09 snow at Foxboro coupled with the 59-0 thrashing of Tennessee.

[#NoPoles]

Gloria, April Fools Snow Storm, Monson/Rt 20 Tornado

Top 3

Not sure I have 2 more. Non New England, I went through Super Typhoon Bart on Okinawa

 

[Ginx snewx]

March 1960 snowstorm  , Feb 1978, Feb 2013  Blizzard, Winter 2015. Hurricane Bob