Digging Out

The Northeast is digging out from one of the biggest snow storms in history this weekend. What a storm it turned out to be. The convergence zone between the moist warm air to the south and cold artic air to the north created a snow band right along the Northeast coast that delivered snow fall rates of 3"-4" an hour for a 3 to 4 hour period. This band is what pushed snowfall totals at the Central Park Zoo to 26.9 inches. Parts of Connecticut received over 30" of snow right along the coast. Today the airports are digging out and slowly getting flights back in the air, while kids are enjoying the day off from school. I think everyone has fond memories of missing school due to the snow. I sure do. I think I used to get more nervous waiting for that announcement that school was canceled than I did for some of my test during my elementary school days.

Boston was pounded with Blizzard conditions and a foot of snow. From a meteorological standpoint there are certain conditions that need to be met in order to actually be declared a "Blizzard". Winds need to be sustained at over 35 mph for over a 3 hour period and visibility needs to be reduced to less than a 1/4 mile. The Blizzard of 2006 certainly met those conditions along the coastline.

Fresh Bread did some great reporting yesterday and has a great gallery of New York City online. This morning he reports that the streets of New York are pretty much clear of snow and the transportation is rolling through the city. With 2,200 snow plows, it is pretty amazing how quickly a city like New York clears the snow. I know my hometown of Norfolk, Va would have been paralyzed for a week with snow totals like that. As a kid that would have made my day!

Long range forecast models show the potential for another East Coast storm this upcoming weekend. We will keep an eye on it, but long range forecast tend to be very inaccurate. The jet stream pattern is certainly set up to bring a series of storms up the coast, so it is possible.

SCM