Oct 31, 2006 10:56 am US/Eastern
Super Snowstorms: Feb 2006
Paul Kocin, Winter Weather Expert
(WBZ)
The Blizzard of 2006 proved to be the heaviest local snowfall since the historic totals back in January '05, but the storm failed to match in magnitude. The big snow followed the warmest January ever recorded in the U.S. and a week long warm spell that kicked off February with temperatures averaging nearly 9ºF above normal in Boston. A brief switch to colder weather followed and set the stage for heavy snow.
The setup was classic a storm developing along the Gulf Coast with a cold Canadian high pressure north of New England, promising precipitation in the form of frozen flakes. Neither the storm center nor the cold air mass was particularly significant, yet the set up was just enough to pull off a New England blizzard!
By the evening of February 11th, snow began in New York City and rain changed to snow in D.C. overnight. The storm, located along the Virginia coast, began to intensify and a narrow band of heavy snow developed from the nation's capitol to the New York metropolitan area. By morning, intense snowfall rates of 3" to 5" per hour hammered NYC accompanied by lightning and thunder. By the time the storm let up that afternoon, Central Park had recorded an astonishing 26.9", the heaviest single snowfall in 135 years of weather records!
Similar amounts of snow fell across western Connecticut, including Hartford which also reported an all-time snowfall record of nearly 22". Locally, snow was quite heavy and whipped by winds gusting over 40mph for several hours, meeting "blizzard" criteria in eastern Massachusetts. Observers at Logan measured 17.5", a record for the date and the 3rd heaviest snowstorm since the turn of the new century.
The winter blast had been well forecast and hit on a Sunday, limiting the overall impact. Within days, temperatures climbed back into the 50s and the mounds of snow left by the Blizzard of '06 quickly vanished into the atmosphere to form a new storm for another day.
Photo courtesy of Megan O'Leary.
Photo courtesy of NOAA.
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