Snowstorm Reminiscence Thread

[zinski1990]

My favorite still is the Pre Christmas 2004 Ohio Valley Storm. Somewhat forgotten and there's not a ton of info and past articles about it. Being in western Indy we got 10 to 12 inches. Areas just south and south east easily foot and a half to some areas in southern parts of the state approaching 3 feet. My 2nd favorite storm was the polar vortex winter storm of early Jan 14

[dmc76]

Today’s weenie cam 

ST John’s New foundland. 12 to 20” for today. Expected to be 1 to 3 inch rates per hour 

 

http://ntv.ca/web-cams/pub-cam/

[cyclone77]

GHDII radar from LOT

 

[StormfanaticInd]

This storm was one for books. 4 inch glacier that took weeks to melt here in Indy

[cyclone77]

One of my all time favorites was the 12/1/06 storm.  It wasn't too crazy as far as snow totals here (11"), but we just narrowly escaped getting completely shut out by the northwest edge of the precip.  The wall of snow backed in from the southeast and stalled about 20-30 miles northwest of here, and on the other side of that they didn't get a flake.  When the snow moved in it went from nothing to heavy snow in 10-15 minutes, and the winds picked up as it started to precipitate as well.  Models had been showing us right on the extreme cutoff so it was difficult to forecast and figure out how much would fall.  IIRC the official forecast from DVN had us in like 3-6" or something.  Just southeast of here in Princeton they had 18".  

Radar animation using DVN site.

 

[SchaumburgStormer]

15 minutes ago, cyclone77 said:

One of my all time favorites was the 12/1/06 storm.  It wasn't too crazy as far as snow totals here (11"), but we just narrowly escaped getting completely shut out by the northwest edge of the precip.  The wall of snow backed in from the southeast and stalled about 20-30 miles northwest of here, and on the other side of that they didn't get a flake.  When the snow moved in it went from nothing to heavy snow in 10-15 minutes, and the winds picked up as it started to precipitate as well.  Models had been showing us right on the extreme cutoff so it was difficult to forecast and figure out how much would fall.  IIRC the official forecast from DVN had us in like 3-6" or something.  Just southeast of here in Princeton they had 18".  

Radar animation using DVN site.

 

Man that cutoff. Like looking across the street and seeing it rip while you have nothing 

[hlcater]

Just now, SchaumburgStormer said:

Man that cutoff. Like looking across the street and seeing it rip while you have nothing 

The 11/25/18 storm was that bad. North Liberty didn't see a flake while Iowa City saw 7-10" north to south.

[kevlon62]

GHD I on LSD

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[michsnowfreak]

I plan to start browsing (and contributing to) this thread more about past events, but with the current storm coming, I figured I would post the # of 6"+ snowstorms each decade for Detroit & Chicago. Ive had the list for Detroit compiled for sometime and now added Chicago. For the few borderline events over 2 days that were just over 6", i used snow depth as a gauge if it was 1 storm or 2 different events. For the most part though, the list should have a very low margin of error.

 

A few takeaways. Detroit has been on a 6"+ snowstorm binge the last 2 decades. The 1970s-1990s were fairly similar overall between the two cities. The Detroit snow magnet was a Detroit snowstorm repellant in the 1960s, as despite overall colder winters, snowstorms seemed to all be hitting Chicago. Early and mid-20th century saw less storms for each area, with Detroit especially bad in the 1940s. Though Chicago did OK in the 40s for storms, the era as a whole was just not a fun time for snowlovers in our region.

 

Another note of interest...# of 6"+ snowstorms....or lackthereof...has no correlation to the type of winters they were. Some terrible winters still saw a big storm or two, and some good wintry winters didnt see any.

 

For simplicity, I used 1900-01 thru 1909-10 for example, to be the 1910s.

 

        DET - CHI

1890s – 18 - 18

1900s – 15 – 11

1910s -  8 -  9

1920s – 16 - 10

1930s -  7 - 11

1940s -  1 -  8

1950s -  6 – 16

1960s -  4 – 17

1970s – 14 – 18

1980s – 11 – 12

1990s – 11 – 11

2000s – 18 – 16

2010s – 18 – 12

 

 

[michsnowfreak]

Here is the list per season

6”+ storms by winter at Detroit & Chicago

 

       DET - CHI

1880-81: 4 - M

1881-82: 0 - M

1882-83: 1 - M

1883-84: 0 - M

1884-85: 1 - 2

1885-86: 1 - 2

1886-87: 1 - 2

1887-88: 1 - 1

1888-89: 0 - 0

1889-90: 0 - 0

1890-91: 1 - 0

1891-92: 2 - 3

1892-93: 1 - 1

1893-94: 3 - 2

1894-95: 2 - 3

1895-96: 2 - 3

1896-97: 1 - 2

1897-98: 1 - 2

1898-99: 2 - 0

1899-00: 3 - 2

1900-01: 2 - 2

1901-02: 1 - 0

1902-03: 2 - 1

1903-04: 2 - 2

1904-05: 0 - 1

1905-06: 1 - 0

1906-07: 0 - 1

1907-08: 4 - 3

1908-09: 2 - 0

1909-10: 1 - 1

1910-11: 1 - 1

1911-12: 1 - 1

1912-13: 1 - 0

1913-14: 2 - 1

1914-15: 0 - 0

1915-16: 2 - 0

1916-17: 1 - 0

1917-18: 0 – 3

1918-19: 0 - 2

1919-20: 0 - 1

1920-21: 2 - 0

1921-22: 1 - 0

1922-23: 2 - 0

1923-24: 0 - 0

1924-25: 0 - 0

1925-26: 4 - 2

1926-27: 2 - 1

1927-28: 1 - 3

1928-29: 1 - 1

1929-30: 3 – 3

1930-31: 1 - 1

1931-32: 2 - 1

1932-33: 2 - 2

1933-34: 1 - 2

1934-35: 0 - 3

1935-36: 0 - 0

1936-37: 0 - 0

1937-38: 0 - 1

1938-39: 1 - 1

1939-40: 0 - 0

1940-41: 0 - 2

1941-42: 0 - 0

1942-43: 0 - 1

1943-44: 1 - 1

1944-45: 0 - 1

1945-46: 0 - 0

1946-47: 0 - 1

1947-48: 0 - 1

1948-49: 0 - 0

1949-50: 0 - 1

1950-51: 1 - 2

1951-52: 2 - 5

1952-53: 0 - 0

1953-54: 1 - 2

1954-55: 0 - 0

1955-56: 0 - 1

1956-57: 1 - 1

1957-58: 0 - 0

1958-59: 0 - 2

1959-60: 1 - 3

1960-61: 0 - 3

1961-62: 0 – 3

1962-63: 0 - 1

1963-64: 0 - 2

1964-65: 1 - 2

1965-66: 0 - 0

1966-67: 1 – 3

1967-68: 2 - 0

1968-69: 0 - 0

1969-70: 0 - 3

1970-71: 0 - 1

1971-72: 0 - 1

1972-73: 1 - 1

1973-74: 2 - 2

1974-75: 1 - 3

1975-76: 3 - 1

1976-77: 2 - 1

1977-78: 4 - 3

1978-79: 1 - 5

1979-80: 0 - 0

1980-81: 1 - 1

1981-82: 5 - 2

1982-83: 1 - 1

1983-84: 1 - 0

1984-85: 0 - 3

1985-86: 0 - 0

1986-87: 1 - 1

1987-88: 2 - 3

1988-89: 0 - 0

1989-90: 0 - 1

1990-91: 1 - 0

1991-92: 2 - 2

1992-93: 2 – 1

1993-94: 3 - 2

1994-95: 1 - 1

1995-96: 0 - 0

1996-97: 0 - 1

1997-98: 0 – 1

1998-99: 2 - 2

1999-00: 0 - 1

2000-01: 1 - 3

2001-02: 1 - 2

2002-03: 2 - 1

2003-04: 0 - 0

2004-05: 3 - 2

2005-06: 2 - 1

2006-07: 1 - 2

2007-08: 3 - 1

2008-09: 3 - 1

2009-10: 2 - 3

2010-11: 3 - 1

2011-12: 0 - 0

2012-13: 2 - 1

2013-14: 6 - 3

2014-15: 1 - 1

2015-16: 1 - 1

2016-17: 1 - 3

2017-18: 2 - 1

2018-19: 0 - 1

2019-20: 2 – 0

[Stevo6899]

Plz do this with 12+ snowstorms.

[Chicago WX]

Josh, cool idea. I've had the 6"+ list compiled for Chicago for quite awhile...you should have asked.  Regardless, I've got a few corrections/added missing data to your list. Below are the ones that I have that are different from yours for Chicago...

1886-87: 2

1891-92: 3

1896-97: 2

1897-98: 2

1898-99: 0

1899-00: 2

1917-18: 3

1927-28: 3

1932-33: 2

1934-35: 3

1949-50: 1

1950-51: 2

1957-58: 1

1958-59: 2

1966-67: 3

1968-69: 1

1974-75: 3

1989-90: 2

2000-01: 3

2006-07: 2

2007-08: 1

[andyhb]

Quote

"It is like atmospheric magic. A meteorologist could not have co-located everything at once at the same time over one area. Tanking mid level heights with the incoming PV max, the most divergent portion of that upper jet coupling, strong 600-800 frontal forcing, strong low level moist theta-e advection into the frontal circulation, and extreme convergence into the low level cyclone. I am thinking this is going to be ripping heavy TSSN over N IL like nothing before."

This quote from TSSN12's sig via baro from GHD I.

[Cary67]

6 hours ago, michsnowfreak said:

Here is the list per season

 

 

6”+ storms by winter at Detroit & Chicago

 

 

 

       DET - CHI

 

1880-81: 4 - M

 

1881-82: 0 - M

 

1882-83: 1 - M

 

1883-84: 0 - M

 

1884-85: 1 - 2

 

1885-86: 1 - 2

 

1886-87: 1 - 1

 

1887-88: 1 - 1

 

1888-89: 0 - 0

 

1889-90: 0 - 0

 

1890-91: 1 - 0

 

1891-92: 2 - 1

 

1892-93: 1 - 1

 

1893-94: 3 - 2

 

1894-95: 2 - 3

 

1895-96: 2 - 3

 

1896-97: 1 - M

 

1897-98: 1 - M

 

1898-99: 2 - M

 

1899-00: 3 - M

 

1900-01: 2 - 2

 

1901-02: 1 - 0

 

1902-03: 2 - 1

 

1903-04: 2 - 2

 

1904-05: 0 - 1

 

1905-06: 1 - 0

 

1906-07: 0 - 1

 

1907-08: 4 - 3

 

1908-09: 2 - 0

 

1909-10: 1 - 1

 

1910-11: 1 - 1

 

1911-12: 1 - 1

 

1912-13: 1 - 0

 

1913-14: 2 - 1

 

1914-15: 0 - 0

 

1915-16: 2 - 0

 

1916-17: 1 - 0

 

1917-18: 0 – 2

 

1918-19: 0 - 2

 

1919-20: 0 - 1

 

1920-21: 2 - 0

 

1921-22: 1 - 0

 

1922-23: 2 - 0

 

1923-24: 0 - 0

 

1924-25: 0 - 0

 

1925-26: 4 - 2

 

1926-27: 2 - 1

 

1927-28: 1 - 2

 

1928-29: 1 - 1

 

1929-30: 3 – 3

 

1930-31: 1 - 1

 

1931-32: 2 - 1

 

1932-33: 2 - 1

 

1933-34: 1 - 2

 

1934-35: 0 - 2

 

1935-36: 0 - 0

 

1936-37: 0 - 0

 

1937-38: 0 - 1

 

1938-39: 1 - 1

 

1939-40: 0 - 0

 

1940-41: 0 - 2

 

1941-42: 0 - 0

 

1942-43: 0 - 1

 

1943-44: 1 - 1

 

1944-45: 0 - 1

 

1945-46: 0 - 0

 

1946-47: 0 - 1

 

1947-48: 0 - 1

 

1948-49: 0 - 0

 

1949-50: 0 - 0

 

1950-51: 1 - 1

 

1951-52: 2 - 5

 

1952-53: 0 - 0

 

1953-54: 1 - 2

 

1954-55: 0 - 0

 

1955-56: 0 - 1

 

1956-57: 1 - 1

 

1957-58: 0 - 0

 

1958-59: 0 - 1

 

1959-60: 1 - 3

 

1960-61: 0 - 3

 

1961-62: 0 – 3

 

1962-63: 0 - 1

 

1963-64: 0 - 2

 

1964-65: 1 - 2

 

1965-66: 0 - 0

 

1966-67: 1 – 2

 

1967-68: 2 - 0

 

1968-69: 0 - 0

 

1969-70: 0 - 3

 

1970-71: 0 - 1

 

1971-72: 0 - 1

 

1972-73: 1 - 1

 

1973-74: 2 - 2

 

1974-75: 1 - 2

 

1975-76: 3 - 1

 

1976-77: 2 - 1

 

1977-78: 4 - 3

 

1978-79: 1 - 5

 

1979-80: 0 - 0

 

1980-81: 1 - 1

 

1981-82: 5 - 2

 

1982-83: 1 - 1

 

1983-84: 1 - 0

 

1984-85: 0 - 3

 

1985-86: 0 - 0

 

1986-87: 1 - 1

 

1987-88: 2 - 3

 

1988-89: 0 - 0

 

1989-90: 0 - 1

 

1990-91: 1 - 0

 

1991-92: 2 - 2

 

1992-93: 2 – 1

 

1993-94: 3 - 2

 

1994-95: 1 - 1

 

1995-96: 0 - 0

 

1996-97: 0 - 1

 

1997-98: 0 – 1

 

1998-99: 2 - 2

 

1999-00: 0 - 1

 

2000-01: 1 - 2

 

2001-02: 1 - 2

 

2002-03: 2 - 1

 

2003-04: 0 - 0

 

2004-05: 3 - 2

 

2005-06: 2 - 1

 

2006-07: 1 - 1

 

2007-08: 3 - 0

 

2008-09: 3 - 1

 

2009-10: 2 - 3

 

2010-11: 3 - 1

 

2011-12: 0 - 0

 

2012-13: 2 - 1

 

2013-14: 6 - 3

 

2014-15: 1 - 1

 

2015-16: 1 - 1

 

2016-17: 1 - 3

 

2017-18: 2 - 1

 

2018-19: 0 - 1

 

2019-20: 2 – 0

 

 

 

 

Surprised 2007-08 didn't have one 6"+ snowstorm at ORD. We received almost 87" that year imby. Seemed to remember quite a few 6"+ storms that year

[RCNYILWX]

"It is like atmospheric magic. A meteorologist could not have co-located everything at once at the same time over one area. Tanking mid level heights with the incoming PV max, the most divergent portion of that upper jet coupling, strong 600-800 frontal forcing, strong low level moist theta-e advection into the frontal circulation, and extreme convergence into the low level cyclone. I am thinking this is going to be ripping heavy TSSN over N IL like nothing before."

This quote from TSSN12's sig via baro from GHD I.

 

 

Such perfection, it's amazing how much more rare it is to get everything to come together like that at our latitude and longitude.

 

It's just about time for my annual tradition of reading Gino Izzi's AFDs going into that event.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[hoosierwx]

My favorite still is the Pre Christmas 2004 Ohio Valley Storm. Somewhat forgotten and there's not a ton of info and past articles about it. Being in western Indy we got 10 to 12 inches. Areas just south and south east easily foot and a half to some areas in southern parts of the state approaching 3 feet. My 2nd favorite storm was the polar vortex winter storm of early Jan 14

I was in the sweet spot in 2004. It took a week for the plows to get by my house. One of the neighbors had an excavating business and used a loader to push open one lane but if you met anyone one of you was going to have a long way to back up. I was off from work so it was a lot of fun. We had about the same in March of 96. Very heavy wet snow that brought down about every cedar in the county. It looked like a tornado had been through with miles of road full of trees and power lines. Some were without power for 3 or 4 weeks although I was very lucky and it was just a few days. I measured 30 inches on the hood of my truck after it was over but of course there was major compaction. The 78 blizzard would round out my top 3 and I dont know if I could really pick between them. I guess I will call it a 3 way tie.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

[HighTechEE]

I posted this in a thread somewhere in here a couple years ago, but can't find it, oh well here it goes again:

1. Either Jan of '67 or '68, NW corner of Athens Co, OH, we got 28" of heavy wet snow in 24hrs.  When it got cold at night it froze the top 6" so hard you could walk in top of it, us kids carved out big chunks and made igloos.

2. Last week of Feb '80, again in the NW corner of Athens Co, OH, picked up 15" in five hours and it wasn't predicted (forecast was partly cloudy, chance of showers high of 38)!  I got snowed in at my college studying for a test and I missed seeing as I was in my buddies dorm room, went to go home and my hand-me-down boat of a Chrysler New Yorker was a lump in the snow!

3. March '08 storm SE side of Dayton, OH, ended up with about 16" over two days.

4. Dec '04 storm, 12" in one day in Dayton no ice or sleet, 2ft of fell 1 county west of me and 31" in Liberty, IN (couple guys posted above) in that storm and 1.5" of ice 1 county SE!

5. Jan 96' tie with Jan '99,  the '96 storm buried everyone in the Dayton are in all directions with a foot or more, I got about 6" IMBY for a major bust, buddy of mine's dad got 40" in Lucusville in Ross county).  The '99 storm was a foot of snow with almost 2" of ice/sleet pilled on top that ruined it.

PS - The Blizzard of '78 was a miss for SE Ohio at the time, warmed up with heavy rain over night, finished with wind blown fluff after the cold wave that day (we already had about 2ft of compressed glacier on the ground at the time from dozens of snows through that winter).

[michsnowfreak]

18 hours ago, Chicago WX said:

Josh, cool idea. I've had the 6"+ list compiled for Chicago for quite awhile...you should have asked.  Regardless, I've got a few corrections/added missing data to your list. Below are the ones that I have that are different from yours for Chicago...

1886-87: 2

1891-92: 3

1896-97: 2

1897-98: 2

1898-99: 0

1899-00: 2

1917-18: 3

1927-28: 3

1932-33: 2

1934-35: 3

1949-50: 1

1950-51: 2

1957-58: 1

1958-59: 2

1966-67: 3

1968-69: 1

1974-75: 3

1989-90: 2

2000-01: 3

2006-07: 2

2007-08: 1

Thanks! I went back and double checked and most of those I had not originally counted based on obs snow depth (obs time may have been different) and a few I missed. The only 1s I didnt find were I didnt see any in 1957-58 or 1968-69, and only 1 in 1989-90. Unless you were referring to 3 day totals that amounted to 6". Updated the list!

[Chicago WX]

2 hours ago, michsnowfreak said:

Thanks! I went back and double checked and most of those I had not originally counted based on obs snow depth (obs time may have been different) and a few I missed. The only 1s I didnt find were I didnt see any in 1957-58 or 1968-69, and only 1 in 1989-90. Unless you were referring to 3 day totals that amounted to 6". Updated the list!

3 day total storms for those. Back when I could easily find hourly obs, those three qualified in my book. I also have the 10"+ list if you need it. That one came straight from LOT's website.

[michsnowfreak]

10 minutes ago, Chicago WX said:

3 day total storms for those. Back when I could easily find hourly obs, those three qualified in my book. I also have the 10"+ list if you need it. That one came straight from LOT's website.

I would love it thanks! I'll have to go over my Detroit data too to fine tune any possible 3 day events

[Chicago WX]

Chicago official 10"+ snowstorms (via LOT)

Jan 18-20, 1886: 14.0"

Feb 12-14, 1894: 11.0"

Dec 27, 1894: 10.1"

Feb 6-7, 1895: 13.4"

Nov 25-26, 1895: 12.0"

Feb 3-4, 1896: 12.5"

Feb 12-13, 1896: 12.0"

Mar 23-24, 1897: 10.0"

Feb 28, 1900: 11.3"

Feb 2-4, 1901: 12.7"

Dec 12, 1903: 11.3"

Feb 18-19, 1908: 12.8"

Jan 12-14, 1910: 10.2"

Jan 6-7, 1918: 14.9"

Mar 30-31, 1926: 12.6"

Dec 17-19, 1929: 14.8"

Mar 25-26, 1930: 19.2"

Mar 7-8, 1931: 16.2"

Feb 6-7, 1933: 12.7"

Dec 9-10, 1934: 11.3"

Jan 30, 1939: 14.9"

Dec 10-11, 1944: 10.9"

Dec 5-8, 1950: 13.3"

Dec 14, 1951: 10.0"

Mar 2-3, 1954: 11.8"

Dec 19-20, 1960: 12.5"

Dec 22-23, 1961: 11.7"

Feb 23-25, 1965: 11.5"

Jan 26-27, 1967: 23.0"

Dec 22-23, 1969: 11.3"

Mar 25-26, 1970: 14.3"

Apr 1-2, 1970: 10.7"

Jan 9-10, 1977: 10.9"

Jan 25-27, 1978: 12.4"

Feb 6-7, 1978: 10.3"

Jan 12-14, 1979: 20.3"

Feb 10-11, 1981: 11.2

Jan 1-3, 1999: 21.6"

Feb 18, 2000: 11.1"

Jan 30-31, 2002: 12.0"

Jan 21-23, 2005: 11.2"

Feb 13-14, 2007: 10.2"

Jan 9-10, 2009: 12.0"

Feb 9-10, 2010: 12.9"

Jan 31-Feb 2, 2011: 21.2"

Dec 31-Jan 2, 2014: 10.9"

Jan 4-5, 2014: 11.7"

Jan 31-Feb 2, 2015: 19.3"

Nov 20-21, 2015: 11.2"

 

 

[snowstormcanuck]

Still waiting for a snowstorm worthy of reminiscing about.

[Hoosier]

1 hour ago, Chicago WX said:

Chicago official 10"+ snowstorms (via LOT)

Feb 10-11, 1981: 11.2

Jan 1-3, 1999: 21.6"

Horrendous gap between 1981 and 1999, unfortunately coinciding with my childhood/early teen years.  But that's what made the January 1999 storm so special. 

[Chicago WX]

16 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Horrendous gap between 1981 and 1999, unfortunately coinciding with my childhood/early teen years.  But that's what made the January 1999 storm so special. 

Indeed. Only one that I can recall that we had in that "drought", in IKK, was the March 1991 storm (infamous central IL/IN ice storm) that dropped dd's here. 

Note, MDW had six 10"+ storms in those 18 years, but obviously ORD was the official site during that time. 

[Hoosier]

7 minutes ago, Chicago WX said:

Indeed. Only one that I can recall that we had in that "drought", in IKK, was the March 1991 storm (infamous central IL/IN ice storm) that dropped dd's here. 

Note, MDW had six 10"+ storms in those 18 years, but obviously ORD was the official site during that time. 

6 to 0 is quite a difference in that timeframe.  I do vaguely remember a couple storms in that period that seemed like they may have been double digits imby, but can't say for sure, and then of course the March 1998 storm which dropped a foot imby.

[Hoosier]

The epic sleet storm in LAF was imminent 10 years ago.  We did start off with a bit of snow or at least a snow/sleet mix iirc.

[CheeselandSkies]

It's also the 10th anniversary of the beginnings of GHD I. A short video I took from where I was living in Milwaukee at the time, notice how the cars are mostly clean due to the wind:

 

[michsnowfreak]

Today is the 6th anniversary of the biggest snowstorm I've experienced. It came the year after our most severe winter on record. So while the snowstorms and snow depth in 2014 easily reign king, the 2015 storm was one to remember, dropping just under 17 inches with lots of drifts.

[RogueWaves]

Plenty of "stills" out there of the grand daddy of all storms for the Mitt, but it's challenging to find much video of the hardest hit areas during the bliz of '78. WSBT in South Bend would occasionally flash some incredible footage during brief anniversary pieces on air (I lived in S. Bend in '98 for the 20th).

This home video is a rare find I stumbled on. This is far southern Michigan not even close to any lake enhancement or contribution. I was about the same age as the kid in the film back then. The blizzard began about 11 pm on Wed, Jan 25th and relinquished sometime Friday morning Jan 27th. There was some additional inches added via LES over the next couple days which is the fluffier snow seen on top in the later portion of the reel. This and Jan '67 are the only 2 CAT-5 storms known for sure in SMI. Jan '99 was a CAT-5 for a very small region in far SWMI fwiw. I would like to experience one as an adult. Where I lived in '78 was actually in a low total zone but with the winds and cold it was still totally memorable.