East coast storm targets our subforum Noon Sunday-3PM Monday 1/16-17/22 with significant impact potential for heavy snow/heavy rain, a period of gusts 45-60 MPH along the coast with possible coastal flooding Monday morning high tide.

[LibertyBell]

11 hours ago, JBG said:

Quite true. It was a strong La Niña. The winters before, 1971-2 and 1972-3 were notoriously "unsnowy." The numbers look better for 1971-2 but almost all were front loaders with rain washaways. 1974-5 had a 10" storm in early February and a surprise 6" in late March with a forecast changeover that largely busted. 1975-6, 1976-7 and  1979-80 were total busts. The 1980's had similar patterns. It wasn't really until "the storm of the century" in mid-March 1993 did we start getting decent winters. 1993-4 and 1995-6 were historic. From then on, every few winters were decent. But the 1970s and 1980s; the less said about them the better.

1973-74 and 1974-75 seem to be okay but outside of those, some very lackluster winters (and lackluster tropical seasons too).

 

[NJwx85]

On 1/19/2022 at 6:52 AM, NittanyWx said:

So not the 12 hours of snow 15 miles inland then?

Never said 12 hours of snow. Said a good thumping for a few hours if I recall correctly. 

[JBG]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:16 AM, LibertyBell said:

1973-74 and 1974-75 seem to be okay but outside of those, some very lackluster winters (and lackluster tropical seasons too).

 

There was nothing at all lackluster about 1977-8 (HECS in early February and important event in late January) or 1978-9 (one of the biggest cold waves in history capped off by a HECS on President's Day 1979, usually known as PD I, not be be confused with PD II in 2003). Even 1970-1 had a decent event New Year's Eve, and 1971-2 had a storm that gave mixed precip to NYC but crushed the Appalachians. Ithaca had its all-time record of 26" (I think) inches. All those aside, aside from notable cold waves in January 1970, January 1971, and December 1976-January 1977 the 1970's were nothing to write home about. Hurricane Edith (1971) and Belle (1976) did hit the metro area.

[LibertyBell]

3 hours ago, JBG said:

There was nothing at all lackluster about 1977-8 (HECS in early February and important event in late January) or 1978-9 (one of the biggest cold waves in history capped off by a HECS on President's Day 1979, usually known as PD I, not be be confused with PD II in 2003). Even 1970-1 had a decent event New Year's Eve, and 1971-2 had a storm that gave mixed precip to NYC but crushed the Appalachians. Ithaca had its all-time record of 26" (I think) inches. All those aside, aside from notable cold waves in January 1970, January 1971, and December 1976-January 1977 the 1970's were nothing to write home about. Hurricane Edith (1971) and Belle (1976) did hit the metro area.

I was referring to the early and mid 1970s, which were completely different to the late 70s.

Outside of that historic ice storm, our "fun" really began from 1976 onwards.

 

[LibertyBell]

3 hours ago, JBG said:

There was nothing at all lackluster about 1977-8 (HECS in early February and important event in late January) or 1978-9 (one of the biggest cold waves in history capped off by a HECS on President's Day 1979, usually known as PD I, not be be confused with PD II in 2003). Even 1970-1 had a decent event New Year's Eve, and 1971-2 had a storm that gave mixed precip to NYC but crushed the Appalachians. Ithaca had its all-time record of 26" (I think) inches. All those aside, aside from notable cold waves in January 1970, January 1971, and December 1976-January 1977 the 1970's were nothing to write home about. Hurricane Edith (1971) and Belle (1976) did hit the metro area.

Wait a hurricane made landfall here in 1971?  I thought Belle in 1976 was the only hurricane landfall here in the 70s?  Did Agnes make landfall as a hurricane here too?

 

 

[gravitylover]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:16 AM, LibertyBell said:

1973-74 and 1974-75 seem to be okay but outside of those, some very lackluster winters (and lackluster tropical seasons too).

 

Yeah but you're only seeing the numbers after the fact. You know that being "in it" can be a much different experience than it would seem to have been "by the numbers". We had some events that were more significant, cold that was deeper and more pervasive, some ice events that don't even show up and, on LI in particular, it just generally felt like winter more than it does now. I'm curious, does the lake at Grant Park still freeze up sufficiently for skating? That used to be a really popular place for us kids to go for weeks straight every year. 

[LibertyBell]

2 hours ago, gravitylover said:

Yeah but you're only seeing the numbers after the fact. You know that being "in it" can be a much different experience than it would seem to have been "by the numbers". We had some events that were more significant, cold that was deeper and more pervasive, some ice events that don't even show up and, on LI in particular, it just generally felt like winter more than it does now. I'm curious, does the lake at Grant Park still freeze up sufficiently for skating? That used to be a really popular place for us kids to go for weeks straight every year. 

Not really, at least it hasn't in a few years.  I think the last time it froze over enough for skating was 2015.

What a winter that was.....

Totally agree about being in a winter, but let me tell you, having experienced those 80s winters firsthand they sucked just as much being in them as looking back at them.  Cold and dry followed by mild and rain is my most hated combo.

 

 

[JBG]

On 1/26/2022 at 2:25 AM, LibertyBell said:

Wait a hurricane made landfall here in 1971?  I thought Belle in 1976 was the only hurricane landfall here in the 70s?  Did Agnes make landfall as a hurricane here too?

 

 

If I'm not mistaken both Edith and Agnes made landfall as high-impact tropical storms. Both had epic rains. A warm front spawned by Agnes had greater rain impact than Agnes' rain did directly in the New York City area. We had about 7-8" in Westchester from that, and another 3" or so from Agnes. This is just going off memory. A lot else was happening in my life on the day of the pre-Agnes storm, including a near-expulsion from High School. Agnes' impact in upstate New York and interior Pennsylvania was devastating. When I went to the Corning Glass Factory in August 1972 the ground floor was still inaccessible. When I went back with my family in April 2007 we saw the waterline. Too bad I don't have a picture.

Edith was mostly a very rainy windstorm. Also, Edith in an indirect was worsened the impact of Agnes. Despite the prevailing La Niña (which ended in the Spring of 1972) the months after Agnes, including especially late spring of 1972 left the East so waterlogged as to really increase Agnes' flooding potential.

[NorthShoreWx]

7 hours ago, JBG said:

If I'm not mistaken both Edith and Agnes made landfall as high-impact tropical storms. Both had epic rains. A warm front spawned by Agnes had greater rain impact than Agnes' rain did directly in the New York City area. We had about 7-8" in Westchester from that, and another 3" or so from Agnes. This is just going off memory. A lot else was happening in my life on the day of the pre-Agnes storm, including a near-expulsion from High School. Agnes' impact in upstate New York and interior Pennsylvania was devastating. When I went to the Corning Glass Factory in August 1972 the ground floor was still inaccessible. When I went back with my family in April 2007 we saw the waterline. Too bad I don't have a picture.

Edith was mostly a very rainy windstorm. Also, Edith in an indirect was worsened the impact of Agnes. Despite the prevailing La Niña (which ended in the Spring of 1972) the months after Agnes, including especially late spring of 1972 left the East so waterlogged as to really increase Agnes' flooding potential.

I believe Doria in 70 or 71 hit the NNJ/NYC area as a strong TS.  

David in 1979 brought enough wind (gusts 60+) to cause a death in a Brooklyn factory when a window blew in on a worker. 

Doria may have made a landfall near NYC  while David was a fast moving transitioning extratropical/TS racing north inland after making landfall as a Hurricane down south.

[JBG]

3 hours ago, NorthShoreWx said:

I believe Doria in 70 or 71 hit the NNJ/NYC area as a strong TS.  

David in 1979 brought enough wind (gusts 60+) to cause a death in a Brooklyn factory when a window blew in on a worker. 

Doria may have made a landfall near NYC  while David was a fast moving transitioning extratropical/TS racing north inland after making landfall as a Hurricane down south.

You are quite right. I was referring to "Doria" as "Edith." Courtesy of my bad memory.

[LibertyBell]

12 hours ago, JBG said:

If I'm not mistaken both Edith and Agnes made landfall as high-impact tropical storms. Both had epic rains. A warm front spawned by Agnes had greater rain impact than Agnes' rain did directly in the New York City area. We had about 7-8" in Westchester from that, and another 3" or so from Agnes. This is just going off memory. A lot else was happening in my life on the day of the pre-Agnes storm, including a near-expulsion from High School. Agnes' impact in upstate New York and interior Pennsylvania was devastating. When I went to the Corning Glass Factory in August 1972 the ground floor was still inaccessible. When I went back with my family in April 2007 we saw the waterline. Too bad I don't have a picture.

Edith was mostly a very rainy windstorm. Also, Edith in an indirect was worsened the impact of Agnes. Despite the prevailing La Niña (which ended in the Spring of 1972) the months after Agnes, including especially late spring of 1972 left the East so waterlogged as to really increase Agnes' flooding potential.

how far apart were the two storms? a couple of weeks?