March 2025

[Allsnow]

 

[Dark Star]

1 hour ago, SACRUS said:

March 5, 2001

 

The busted storm forecasts of 1 -3 feet of snow trended north

EWR: 3.1 inches of snow
EWR: 5.2 snow

Busted isn't quite the word. See my write up from earlier today.  Correct my breakdown as you see fit...

[NorthShoreWx]

4 hours ago, TriPol said:

What the hell went wrong with the old computer models for the blizzard of 1982? Any ameture meteorologist would have been able to see this coming a mile away today. How were we hit by surprise so hard?

NWS issued a blizzard warning in their late evening update on 4/5/82.  That's not days in advance, but they did forecast a blizzard a half day before the first flakes fell.

This crew here would have missed that.

[SACRUS]

 

Up to 63 just ahead of the rain now.

[forkyfork]

remember when these blocking episodes gave us coastal storms 

[LibertyBell]

9 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

NWS issued a blizzard warning in their late evening update on 4/5/82.  That's not days in advance, but they did forecast a blizzard a half day before the first flakes fell.

This crew here would have missed that.

I didn't miss it, I knew it was going to snow and snow a lot so I woke up at 3 am to see it from my street lights.

[LibertyBell]

40 minutes ago, Allsnow said:

 

it doesn't look cold, just average

[LibertyBell]

9 minutes ago, forkyfork said:

remember when these blocking episodes gave us coastal storms 

it doesn't even look cold, average, temps in the 50s.

[LibertyBell]

1 hour ago, snowman19 said:

After what the abysmal GFS just pulled for this weekend, it could tell me the sky is blue and I wouldn’t believe it

also blocking this late in the season doesn't have to mean cold.

[LibertyBell]

1 hour ago, SACRUS said:

 

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 75 (1976)
NYC: 72 (1880)
LGA: 72 (1976)
JFK: 66 (1985)


Lows: 

 

EWR: 9 (1948)
NYC: 3 (1872)
LGA: 9 (1948)
JFK: 14 (1978)


Historical:

1894: The low temperature of 36 degrees in San Diego, California, on this day was their lowest on record for March.

 

1959: In Iowa, the record-breaking snowstorm on March 4-6 began with light snow in western Iowa on the morning of the 4th, then spread across the state and intensified with heavy snow falling from the night of the 4th through the 5th and into the early morning on the 6th in eastern Iowa. The snowfall and its subsequent effects were less severe in western Iowa and grew progressively worse, moving eastward. In central Iowa, snowfall amounts were generally 6 to 10 inches. In contrast, in eastern Iowa, a swath of about 12 to 20 inches of snow fell roughly from Appanoose County through Tama County and northeast to Allamakee County. Reported storm total snowfall amounts included 12.9 inches at Waterloo, 14.5 inches at Decorah, 16.0 inches at Oelwein, 17.0 inches at Oskaloosa, 17.6 inches at Dubuque, 19.8 inches at Marshalltown, where 17.8 inches fell in just 24 hours, and 22.0 inches at Fayette where 21.0 inches fell in 24 hours. Winds strengthened steadily during the storm, with speeds reaching 30 to 50 mph at times and causing extensive blowing and drifting of snow. Drifts 6 to 10 feet deep were common, and in northeastern Iowa, a few locations reported drifts 15 to 20 feet deep.
 

1959: Near blizzard conditions occurred over northern and central Oklahoma. Up to seven inches of snow fell and winds up to 50 mph created snow drifts 4 to 8 feet deep. In Edmond, a bus slid off the road into a ditch and overturned, injuring 16 people. The image below is from Storm Data.
 

1960 - Eastern Massachusetts greatest March snowstorm of record began to abate. The storm produced record 24 hour snowfall totals of 27.2 inches at Blue Hill Observatory, 17.7 inches at Worcester, and 16.6 inches at Boston. Winds gusted to 70 mph. (3rd-5th) (The Weather Channel)

1962 - A tremendous storm raged along the Atlantic coast. The great Atlantic storm caused more than 200 million dollars property damage from Florida to New England. Winds along the Middle Atlantic Coast reached 70 mph raising forty foot waves, and as much as 33 inches of snow blanketed the mountains of Virginia. The Virginia shoreline was rearranged by historic tidal flooding caused by the combination of the long stretch of strong onshore winds and the Spring Tides. (David Ludlum)

 

1966: A plane crashes near Mount Fuji in Japan after severe turbulence. Aviation-safety.net said the probable cause was, "The aircraft suddenly encountered abnormally severe turbulence over Gotemba City, which imposed a gust load considerably over the design limit." All 124 people on board were killed in the crash.

 

1972: Palm Springs, California, recorded a high of 100 degrees, the earliest the city has ever hit the century mark. 

1987 - A storm in the western U.S. produced heavy rain and high winds in California. Up to six inches of rain soaked the San Francisco Bay area in 24 hours, and winds gusted to 100 mph at the Wheeler Ridge Pumping Plant near the Tehachapi Mountains. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1988 - While snow blanketed eastern Kansas and northern Oklahoma, eight cities in North Dakota reported new record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 61 degrees at Bismarck ND was 27 degrees warmer than that at Chanute KS. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the southeastern U.S. A strong (F-2) tornado killed one person and injured six others in Heard County GA. A strong (F-3) tornado injured 23 persons and caused more than five million dollars damage around Grantville GA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

 

1989: A F2 tornado killed one person and injured six others in Heard County, Georgia. A stronger F3 tornado injured 23 persons and caused more than $5 million in damage around Grantville, Georgia.

1990 - Thunderstorms over eastern Colorado, developing ahead of a major storm system, produced up to three inches of small hail around Colorado Springs in the late morning and early afternoon. Strong thunderstorms swept through southeastern sections of the Denver area during the evening hours. These strong thunderstorms also produced up to three inches of small hail, along with wind gusts to 50 mph, and as much as 2.4 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

 

1998: A thunderstorm dropped dime to golfball size hail along its track from McLain to Leakesville, Mississippi. The most severe damage was around the city of Leakesville. Hail depth was six to twelve inches throughout the city. The elementary school in Leakesville reported hail drifts to the bottom of the school's windows.

This is the only comparable storm to December 1992, albeit more focused on the Jersey Shore rather than NYC and Long Island

 

1962 - A tremendous storm raged along the Atlantic coast. The great Atlantic storm caused more than 200 million dollars property damage from Florida to New England. Winds along the Middle Atlantic Coast reached 70 mph raising forty foot waves, and as much as 33 inches of snow blanketed the mountains of Virginia. The Virginia shoreline was rearranged by historic tidal flooding caused by the combination of the long stretch of strong onshore winds and the Spring Tides. (David Ludlum)

[Allsnow]

Msp with 9.5 

 

[MJO812]

6 minutes ago, Allsnow said:

Msp with 9.5 

 

Lucky 

[LibertyBell]

5 minutes ago, MJO812 said:

Lucky 

it's normal for them to get snow in March and April like this though.

Their March is like our January and their April is like our February.

 

[Brian5671]

23 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

also blocking this late in the season doesn't have to mean cold.

yeah it's just trapping polar pac air which is not that cold this time of year

[LibertyBell]

5 hours ago, EastonSN+ said:

For me 1993 had more to do with the effects down south and the Appalachians. Also the strength of the storm and the severe storm outbreak in Florida during the storm. 

I can see April 1982 happening with a late sswe and a cross polar flow. I don't think it will happen in my lifetime but of the four would pick this.

The thing about both storms (December 1992 and March 1993) that I found comparable is that both storms had a lot of snow inland.

You didn't have to go that far inland to have a lot of snow in December 1992, there was over a foot in Sparta NJ. We were raining here but the temperatures were in the upper 30s with hurricane force howling winds for 3 days that brought down fences and roofs and did major property damage and backend snow.  

In December 1992 the maximum snowfall was around 3 feet near State College, PA and in March 1993 I believe it was around 4 feet near Syracuse, NY.

edit-- December 1992 also had 4 feet of snow but it was down in Maryland

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_1992_nor'easter

The December 1992 nor'easter produced record high tides and snowfall across the northeastern United States. It developed as a low pressure area on December 10 over Virginia, and for two days it remained over the Mid-Atlantic states before moving offshore. In Maryland, the snowfall unofficially reached 48 in (1,200 mm); if verified, the total would have been the highest in the state's history. About 120,000 people were left without power in the state due to high winds. Along the Maryland coast, the storm was less severe than the Perfect Storm in the previous year, although the strongest portion of the storm remained over New Jersey for several days. In the state, winds reached 80 mph (130 km/h) in Cape May, and tides peaked at 10.4 ft (3.2 m) in Perth Amboy. The combination of high tides and 25 ft (7.6 m) waves caused the most significant flooding in the state since the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. Several highways and portions of the New York City Subway and Port Authority Trans-Hudson systems were closed due to the storm. Throughout New Jersey, the nor'easter damaged about 3,200 homes and caused an estimated $750 million in damage (1992 USD).

The nor'easter increased tides across the northeastern United States for several days due to its slow movement. In New York City, tides reached 8.04 ft (2.45 m) at Battery Park, which flooded Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive. Along Long Island, the nor'easter destroyed over 130 homes and left 454,000 people without power. In New England, 230,684 people lost power during the storm. Five houses were destroyed in Massachusetts, and flooding reached 5 ft (1.5 m) deep in Boston. Further inland, the storm produced significant snowfall, estimated at around 4 ft (1.2 m) in The Berkshires. The high snow totals closed schools for a week in western Massachusetts. Overall, the storm caused between $1–2 billion in damage (1992 USD) and 19 deaths, of which four were directly related to the storm.

 

[Dark Star]

39 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

NWS issued a blizzard warning in their late evening update on 4/5/82.  That's not days in advance, but they did forecast a blizzard a half day before the first flakes fell.

This crew here would have missed that.

I was covering the overnight shift at CBS.  I saw the LFM and pointed out to Steve Deshler that it looked like a major snowstorm was going to hit us.  Irv Gikofsky walked in and just laughed at me...

[wdrag]

Wind advisory type events: 

IF, group wants an OBS thread for the isolated damaging gusts of 60MPH and somewhat more widespread 46MPH gusts I 80 south in PA/NJ, and across LI in the 3PM-midnight time frame, let me know.  Otherwise just post here... we're getting 50+ now Delmarva.

A repeat wind advisory episode should occur along and NORTH of I80- especially I84 corridor ridges midnight-Noon Friday morning including Poconos, much of CT, nw NJ,  Southern NYS  and probably marginally into LI. That one is the CAA backside segment. 

ALSO,  Bob Harts wind extreme web site etc is discontinued due to Federal Funding issues.  That means you have to go to other sources to keep up with max gusts. 

fwiw below: Comparison of drought monitor a year ago... borrowed from another link. 

[LibertyBell]

16 minutes ago, Dark Star said:

I was covering the overnight shift at CBS.  I saw the LFM and pointed out to Steve Deshler that it looked like a major snowstorm was going to hit us.  Irv Gikofsky walked in and just laughed at me...

I remember watching it on the evening news, the prediction of 6-12 inches was spot on.

 

[SACRUS]

 

To 65 just before it rain arrived.

[snowman19]

2 hours ago, Allsnow said:

 

So are we are going to see benchmark storms with 50 degrees and rain? 

[Franklin0529]

1 minute ago, snowman19 said:

So are we are going to see benchmark storms with 50 degrees and rain? 

Hopefully, we desperately need it. Down here there's a decent wild fire in Jackson by great adventure that started this morning 

[snowman19]

1 hour ago, Brian5671 said:

yeah it's just trapping polar pac air which is not that cold this time of year

@bluewave brought that up yesterday….with a +EPO/-PNA/+WPO the PAC air floodgates will be wide open and the -AO/-NAO will trap it underneath the blocks 

[mikeysed]

The radar on TWC from 5-7 pm looks pretty bad, the NWS is not really calling for flash flooding, if that happens there will be a lot of it.

[LibertyBell]

28 minutes ago, mikeysed said:

The radar on TWC from 5-7 pm looks pretty bad, the NWS is not really calling for flash flooding, if that happens there will be a lot of it.

it looks like a quick moving squall line.  Getting an inch from that would be near the top end.

[MJO812]

Heavy rain here

[Allsnow]

1 hour ago, snowman19 said:

So are we are going to see benchmark storms with 50 degrees and rain? 

 

[Stormlover74]

Heavy stuff moving in

[Allsnow]

.30 already and radar looks good for at least a inch 

[Stormlover74]

Oddly no wind just heavy rain

[Nibor]

9 minutes ago, Stormlover74 said:

Oddly no wind just heavy rain

The wind was insane maybe an hour before it arrived here in JC.