That the Northeast is home to a number of the nation’s most important historical snowstorms may be tough to recollect as large swaths of the region still have yet to see their first real snow event this season. But strong winter storms often called “nor’easters” are frequently a staple across the region this time of yr.
The storms are named after the strong northeasterly winds that rake the coastal areas and convey in copious amounts of moisture that, when combined with a chilly air mass parked over Recent England, can pummel the region with damaging winds and crippling snowfalls.
Past nor’easters have been chargeable for billions of dollars in damage, severe economic, transportation and human disruption, and in some cases, disastrous coastal flooding. The storms normally develop within the latitudes between Georgia and Recent Jersey, inside 100 miles east or west of the East Coast, and progress generally northeastward, typically attaining maximum intensity near Recent England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
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Historically, nor’easters have been a number of the most memorable storms on record within the Northeast. Listed below are 7 of the best such storm to strike the world.
1. Blizzard of March 1888
What began as a gentle and nice mid-March weekend in 1888 within the Northeast turned stormy by Sunday afternoon the eleventh, with rain changing to heavy snow by Monday morning, in accordance with Dan Valley, with NOAA.
After which the snow just didn’t stop. Snow totals reached incredible amounts of 40-50 inches across parts of Recent England with wind gusts of fifty mph creating snowdrifts as high as 30-40 feet deep, Valley said.
“The storm became legendary in Recent York City,” Valley wrote in his recap of the storm. “Because the economy was struggling, most staff went to their jobs whatever the weather conditions. Because of this, there have been quite a few accounts of individuals stranded and freezing to death.”
Greater than 400 people died, and greater than 200 ships were destroyed up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Valley said forecasters with the U.S. Signal Service – accountable for weather forecasts in those days – did not issue cold weather warnings ahead of that blizzard and one other that had hit the Northern Plains two months earlier. That prompted the federal government to maneuver the Signal Service from the War Department “to enhance forecasting and preparedness efforts.” Two years later, the U.S. Weather Bureau – the precursor to today’s National Weather Service – was signed in to law as a part of the Department of Agriculture.
2. Ash Wednesday storm of 1962
The storm was uniquely destructive in that it combined the powers of a powerful low pressure timed near the astronomically high tides near the spring equinox to create catastrophic tidal surges along the mid-Atlantic coast.
The U.S. Weather Bureau gave the storm the name the “Great Atlantic storm,” but since it lingered through five high-tide cycles, it was also often called the “Five High Storm”, in accordance with NOAA.
Farther inland, heavy snow fell across the mid-Atlantic, with blizzard conditions reported in North Carolina and 42 inches of snow reported in Virginia‘s Shenandoah National Park. Snow even fell in Alabama.
The storm killed 40 people and injured 1,000 more.
3. 1993 ‘Storm of the Century’
The aptly named “Storm of the Century” had widespread impacts on 120 million people, covering 550,000 square miles stretching from the South to Recent England.
“With a central pressure normally present in Category 3 hurricanes, the storm spawned tornadoes and left coastal flooding, crippling snow, and bone-chilling cold in its wake,” wrote NOAA researchers.
The storm brought widespread snowfall of 1-2 feet up and down the Eastern Seaboard into the Ohio Valley and Recent England. Some spots reported over 40 inches, including 43 inches in Syracuse, Recent York, and 56 inches at Mount LeConte, Tennessee.
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Wind gusts over 70 mph were common along the East Coast, and 15 tornadoes were spawned in Florida. The storm closed nearly all interstate highways from Atlanta to the northeast, and 10 million lost power. Every major airport along the East Coast was closed resulting in probably the most weather-related flight cancellations in U.S. history.
Eighteen homes fell into the ocean on Long Island, and 200 homes were damaged along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
The storm caused $5.5 billion in damage and ranks because the strongest storm recorded on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale going back to 1956.
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4. Blizzard of 1996
While big snowstorms that leave a foot or more of snow aren’t exactly unheard of on this a part of the country, what made this storm so memorable was the widespread heavy snow in multiple urban corridors.
Snow measurements over a foot and even 2 feet stretched from Cincinnati, Ohio, across Pennsylvania and West Virginia into Philadelphia, Washington, then up through Recent Jersey and Recent York into Boston and Recent England. Even northern Florida saw some light snowfall, including Tallahassee and areas just north of Tampa.
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Philadelphia recorded 30.7 inches of snow – its all-time record – and 22.2 inches fell in Harrisburg. The totals were even higher farther south in York, Pennsylvania.
“We had 3 feet of snow and built snow tunnels to attach our yard to neighbor’s yards,” said FOX Weather senior data specialist Shane Brown.
Throughout the height of the storm, Recent York City was completely cut off from the remaining of the country for 2 days as all its airports, roads and trains were shut down, stranding lots of of travelers. Snow totals measured 21 inches in Central Park.
In all, greater than 150 people were killed within the storm, in accordance with the National Weather Service. Lots of those deaths were those that suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. The blizzard ranks second on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, behind the 1993 storm.
5. Rare October nor’easter in 2011
Normally, those within the northeast aren’t fascinated by snow as they choose their Halloween costumes, but in 2011, many areas had snow on the bottom as trick-or-treaters roamed the chilly neighborhoods.
The storm began on the twenty eighth, but most of its fury was felt on the twenty ninth. Heavy, wet snow aided by strong winds resulted in tree and power line damage across northern Recent Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania by Saturday afternoon because the low-pressure system churned northward along the mid-Atlantic coast. Gale force winds buffeted the Recent Jersey and Delaware coastlines.
The storm brought thundersnow to Recent York City shortly past lunchtime on Saturday – before the town had even recorded its first freeze.
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Central Park received 2.9 inches of snow, with as much as 6 inches falling within the Bronx. This was the one time in recorded history that an inch or more of snow has fallen in Central Park through the month of October.
The mixture of the heavy, wet snow and high winds damaged or destroyed lots of of trees in the town. The Recent York Times reported that as much as a thousand trees in Central Park could possibly be lost resulting from storm-related damage.
Jaffrey, Recent Hampshire, positioned in hilly terrain, recorded a whopping 31.4 inches from this snowstorm – an amount that will be considered impressive even in February, but is solely unheard of for October. There have been reports that this was eclipsed by readings in Peru, Massachusetts, where 32 inches fell.
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The 22.5 inches that fell in Concord, Recent Hampshire, between 3 p.m. on Saturday and seven a.m. on Sunday was the second-greatest 24-hour total ever recorded in any month – let alone October.
October snowfall records were smashed in Hartford, Connecticut, which received 12.3 inches; Worcester, Massachusetts, where 14.6 inches fell; and Newark, where 5.2 inches piled up. In response to the National Weather Service, this was only the second time that measurable snowfall occurred in Newark through the month of October.
The last time any snow piled up was in 1952 when just 0.3 inches fell. Much heavier snows, with greater damage, occurred in northwestern Recent Jersey, including 19 inches in West Milford.
6. The Jan. 22-24 nor’easter of 2016
Greater than 100 million people across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic were affected by this historic nor’easter. Snowfall in the most important metropolitan areas of Recent York, Philadelphia, and Washington reached widespread 2-3 foot accumulations across the region.
The snow was accompanied by winds in excess of 35 mph, creating blizzard conditions over much of the world, and the mixture of wind and really heavy snow created major impacts to travel, closed many major airports and stranded lots of of motorists on roads.
Along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, greater than 500 motorists were stranded overnight by the heavy snow.
The historic nor’easter also led to significant coastal flooding along portions of the mid-Atlantic and northeast seaboard. Quite a few roads, homes and businesses along the Recent Jersey and Delaware coasts were flooded, and emergency personnel conducted quite a few water rescues.
The coastal flooding along the southern portion of the Jersey Shore exceeded that experienced in the world during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
The storm rated a Category 4 on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.
7. Bomb cyclone of Jan. 3-5, 2018
Greater than 13 million people were under a blizzard warning as this nor’easter “bomb cyclone” roared up the East Coast with widespread impacts felt over 14 states.
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Prior to the storm’s initiation, much of the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains had been in a chronic period of well-below-normal temperatures, with averages as much as 10 degrees colder for the East Coast. The cold temperatures triggered the closure of a few of Orlando’s major water parks: Sea World, Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.
Then got here the southern snow. Tallahassee recorded its first measurable snowfall since 1989, while a latest day by day snowfall record of 5.3 inches was set in Charleston, South Carolina, which placed because the third all-time highest day by day snowfall.
Over 13,000 tons of salt were used to treat roads across South Carolina; nonetheless, the South Carolina Highway Patrol still had to reply to quite a few accidents. Charleston International Airport was closed resulting from snow and ice cover.
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The heavier snow spanned from the Chesapeake Bay region to Maine, primarily locations east of interstates 95 and 87. The best amounts fell over north-central Maine, where totals ranged from 18 to 36 inches or more. 1000’s of flights were canceled across the eastern third of the U.S.
Because the storm rapidly intensified, so did the wind. About 40,000 residents lost power in Virginia and North Carolina. Coastal areas from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast had near-hurricane force wind speeds, coastal flooding and erosion, record high tides and storm surge.
Nantucket, Massachusetts, recorded a number of the highest wind speeds (76 mph) because the storm barreled up the coast. Impressive wave heights developed because the low rapidly deepened. A latest record high tide (4.88 feet mean higher high water), combined with the wind, flooded the heavily snow-covered city streets of Boston.
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The storm caused 22 deaths, and damage was estimated at $1.2 billion.
Honorable mention: The nice Boston snowstorms of 2015
It wasn’t only one snowstorm in Boston within the late winter of 2015, but 4 of them.
A whopping 24.4 inches fell in Boston on Jan. 26-27. Then every week later, on Feb. 2, one other 16.2 inches fell.
The pattern repeated with 22.2 inches again every week afterward Feb. 8-9, followed by one other 16.2 inches on Feb. 14-15. The storms established a city record for 30-day snowfall at 71.8 inches and left much of eastern Massachusetts buried under 3 feet of snow.
That winter still stands because the snowiest on record there, with 108.6 inches of total snow.