Blizzard of 2013: February 8-9 Compiled by Nick Panico

BLIZZARD OF 2013: FEBRUARY 8-9 COMPILED BY NICK PANICO. THIS MAY NOT BE SHARED ON ANY WEBSITE, FORUM, BLOG, GROUP, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA OR PRINT WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF NICK PANICO. IF YOU ARE GRANTED PERMISSION I ASK THAT YOU GIVE FULL CREDIT TO NICK F. PANICO III WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/TARCWEATHER

INTRO: A high impact winter storm brought rain, wind, and record heavy snow to the eastern United States on 8-9 February 2013. The heavy snow from southeastern New York and Long Island, across Connecticut and into Maine was the result of a strong cyclone which tracked up the East Coast on 8 February before interacting with a northern stream wave. The two systems merged during the evening hours of 8 February 2013. During this merger period intense snowfall affect central Long Island and Connecticut producing areas of 30 to 40 inches of snowfall. From a historic perspective this storm was compared to the February 1978 Storm. This was a top 5 snowfall event in many locations across southern and eastern New England and for many sites in Long Island and Connecticut is the new snowfall of record or the most snow recorded since the 1888 Blizzard. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/okx/StormEvents/storm02082013.html

Many residents of the Northeast didn’t welcome the potential blizzard of February with open arms. The blizzard came on the heels of a historic late season hybrid storm at the very end of October in 2012 named Sandy that had the dubbed names such as Frankenstorm and Superstorm Sandy. Many residents were still without full access to their homes, or left without homes all together. Interior New England still had residents getting their lives and property back together after a historic flooding event took place as Tropical Storm Irene went inland at the end of August, 2011. The Northeast had their share fair of severe weather within 2011 and 2012 and they certainly weren’t hoping for anything else historic to

come by.

(Courtesy of M. Gross)

PRE-STORM: On February 6 one of the most legendary winter storm analysts in the world, Paul Kocin, wrote a sensational analysis of what could happen for the National Weather Service's Hydrometerological Prediction Center. In part he wrote:

" THE 12Z RUNS INCREASINGLY POINT TO CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEW ENGLAND RECEIVING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM AS THE CENTRAL PRESSURES OF THE LOW FALL TO THE 970S TO LOW 980S WITHIN THE 12Z RUNS. THE LIKELIHOOD OF GREATER THAN 12 INCHES OF SNOW IS HIGH ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AND AMOUNTS GREATER THAN 24 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS EASTERN NEW ENGLAND. MIXED PRECIPITATION MAY HOLD DOWN AMOUNTS ACROSS SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS AND ALONG THE IMMEDIATE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COAST. THE GREATEST AMOUNTS ARE FOUND JUST NORTHWEST FROM WHERE THE CYCLONE DECELERATES AND EVEN MAY MAKE A BIT OF A LOOP AROUND ITSELF ON SATURDAY. THE 00Z AND 12Z ECMWF ALSO SHOW THE LOW THEN MAKING A SLOW SOUTHEASTWARD TO EASTWARD MOTION BEFORE PULLING NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE ATLANTIC. THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF BEHAVIOR EXHIBITED BY SOME OF THE MOST INTENSE STORMS...SUCH AS THE MORE RECENT BLIZZARD OF 2005/APRIL FOOLS BLIZZARD OF 1997...THAT THIS STORM MAY ALSO EXHIBIT." http://ctaudubon.blogspot.com/2013/02/blizzard-of-2013-part-ii.html

Weenie Dreams: (For those of you who don’t follow weather circles regularly I will mention what a weather weenie is here.) A weather weenie is: -A weather enthusiast who gets excited by extreme weather, but who has little or no knowledge of the science of meteorology. -Weenies often inhabit Internet message boards and issue "wishcasts", which are forecasts based on the author's desire for extreme weather. They try to justify their wishcasts with anecdotes and pseudoscience. -While professional forecasters examine computer models to make forecasts, weenies often treat the forecasters themselves as data sources upon which to form their wishcasts. -When an extreme weather event isn't going to plan, weenies will often react by issueing "bittercasts", which greatly overestimate the extent to which the supposed extreme weather has weakened. -Weenies are very self-absorbed and emotional, and become morbidly distraught when a forecasted extreme weather event doesn't pan out in their backyard. Even if the forecast was generally correct for surrounding areas, weenies will angrily denounce the forecasters. (This is how I came up with the name TARC: Tropical Anonymous Rehab Center, several years ago. I constantly observed how many weather enthusiasts in Facebook Groups would react during the tropical season when a hurricane would weaken or go out to sea. They would argue with other members which often resulted in them getting banned or removed from the group. I could almost sense when this would happen and I figured that these individuals needed to go to “Tropical Rehab”. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weather%20weenie At that point it was thought the storm could rival some of the greatest ever but would not take its eventual place near the top. The North American Model (NAM) that runs out to 84 hours four times a day insisted during several runs that we would see enormous amounts of precipitation. It yielded 73.3 inches of snow for Boston and about 97 inches in Maine at one point.

It is notorious for exaggerating actual totals and this provided some good laughs throughout the day. Still, the situation kept changing and on the 12z Euro run on Thursday, February 7, we saw how much of the area could get over two feet of snow as it came in with more precipitation and was even colder. Bridgeport's climate station (at the Stratford airport) would have received 2.84 inches of water on that run, 100% of it being snow, and conservative estimates would make that nearly 30 inches. As we moved into Friday, February 8, the NAM continued to tell us there would be an insane amount of water falling across some parts of the area. It became more realistic (but still seeming like a fantasy) with amounts topping out around four inches and if even half of that actually fell it would be around two feet of snow. The Euro was trending colder and wetter with possibly over 30 inches of snow in some areas, and the fact the NAM continued with this the day before and of the storm made many people wonder if it would somehow produce such an area of three or more feet. The Global Forecast System (GFS), America's long-range model, had trouble with the storm nearly until the end. At the very least it did keep insisting it would be further east and keep areas like New York City outside of huge totals, and in this way it was correct.

(Courtesy: Timmy Belles)

(Courtesy: Hans VanBenschoten)

Below is a QPF from the 00z NAM on Feb 7. Totals of up to 5” of liquid precipitation were being modeled.

The storm was relatively well predicted 1 to 3 days in advance and the European Centers high resolution model provide some insight into storm potential about 6 days in advance. As the storm approached and the forecast length decreased the models and ensemble prediction systems produced a deep cyclone with an anchoring intense anticyclone to the north, resulting in forecasts of 850hPa winds -5 to 6 σ below normal, implying a near record if not historic event. With the strong frontal forcing implied by the strong winds, both model and ensemble forecast system quantitative precipitation forecasts were on the order of 25 to 50 mm in areas where the predicted precipitation type was forecast to fall mainly as snow. Forecasts of 18 to 38 inches were common in SREF forecasts at least 48 hour prior to the onset of precipitation http://cms.met.psu.edu/sref/severe/2013/09Feb2013.pdf

Preparation: Millions of people in the Northeast and New England battened down today for a weekend blizzard today. Forecasters warned it could be one for the record books. By this afternoon, the gathering storm was beginning to whiten the landscape for hundreds of miles, with long hours of snowfall still to come. Fueling this storm is two low-pressure systems, one from the Midwest, the other from the Southeast, colliding over the Northeast and New England.

Blizzard warnings were posted in seven states from New Jersey on up to Maine. At least three declared emergencies, and schools closed in a number of cities. Forecasters predicted New England would get the worst of it, with up to three feet of snow likely in Boston.

BERNIE RAYNO, AccuWeather: Well, I will tell you what.

The worst of this storm, as we have been pointing out all week, is going to be across Southern New England. Two storms, as you mentioned, and the first storm across the Midwest already producing quite a bit of snow across parts of New York State. But it’s the second storm as it strengthens and moves north and northeast, we’re already starting to get bands of heavy snow now across New England in toward Boston, Providence, Hartford, snowing in New York City.

And by tonight, this storm is really going to start intensifying here. And anywhere in this white, New York City, Providence, Boston — Boston, right up the I-95 toward Bangor, Maine, this whole area is going to start seeing snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour.

We’re going to see wind gusts between 50 and 60 miles per hour, and that’s going to produce a lot of blowing and drifting snow, heaviest snow accumulations in the blue here across Southern New England anywhere from 18 to 24 inches, and there will be locations that pick up over two feet.

OBSERVED: Watches and warnings were issued in preparation for the storm, and state governors declared states of emergency in all states in New England and in New York. Flights at many major airports across the region were canceled, and travel bans were put into place on February 8 in several states. Hundreds ended up stranded on Long Island late on February 8 as a result of the rapidly accumulating snowfall. A combination of strong winds and heavy, wet snow left 700,000 customers without electricity at the height of the storm. At least eighteen deaths were attributed to the storm.

By late on February 7, 2013, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for the northeastern United States, from the Upper Midwest to New England. There was also a blizzard warning for the New York metropolitan area, all of Connecticut, all of Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts, as well as southeast New Hampshire and coastal Maine. On February 8, blizzard warnings were expanded to include inland portions of southeast New Hampshire, and inland portions of Maine's coastal counties. By February 8, storm warnings and hurricane force wind warnings were in effect for the New England and Mid Atlantic waters, in addition to coastal flood warnings.

In Chicago, officials deployed 199 snow trucks, and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority sent 182 plows for its road system. In the northeast United States, the storm threatened beaches and dunes in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy from the previous October.[56] Due to the storm's threat, airlines canceled more than 2,700 flights, mostly for February 8. In New York, officials readied snow removal crews,] with more than 250,000 tons of salt prepared. Schools were closed in Hartford, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island, among other cities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2013_nor%27easter

This blizzard rated 3 out of 5 on the Regional Snowfall Index (RSI) scale according to preliminary observations through 7:00 AM Sunday, February 10. While the area impacted by this storm was less than many other major storms, the heaviest snowfall landed in more densely populated areas, making it a “major “storm in the RSI categories. Over 49,000 people across 192 square miles saw 30 inches of snow or more as a result of this storm. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/snow-and-ice/rsi/societal-impacts

For blizzards like this, I have seen snow up to 55 dBZ. It’s not really “snow” so much as it is heavily rimed snow in a convective environment, which this event also had I have heard. I got a report from Long Island that they had thunder and 2-3 hours of heavy sleet, which kept the totals in check. http://cimmse.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/08-09-feburary-2013-blizzard-dual-pol-imagery/

(Courtesy of M. Gross)

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0123 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1150 AM CST FRI FEB 08 2013

AREAS AFFECTED...NRN NJ...SERN NY THROUGH SRN NEW ENGLAND

CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW

VALID 081750Z - 082145Z

SUMMARY...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND NWD FROM NRN NJ AND SERN NY THROUGH SRN NEW ENGLAND. SNOWFALL INTENSITY WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY WITH RATES APPROACHING 1 INCH PER HOUR BY LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. HEAVIEST RATES /2+ INCH PER HOUR/ ARE EXPECTED TO EVOLVE DURING THE EVENING.

DISCUSSION...EARLY THIS AFTERNOON A DEEP SURFACE LOW WAS LOCATED JUST OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING EWD FROM THE LOW INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE HAS DEVELOPED IN ASSOCIATION WITH A VORT MAX NEAR THE CNTRL VA COAST AND WITHIN A COUPLED UPPER JET STRUCTURE. AN EXPANSIVE AREA OF PRECIPITATION IS IN PROGRESS FROM NJ INTO SRN NEW ENGLAND WITHIN ZONE OF ISENTROPIC ASCENT NORTH OF WARM FRONT. SNOW RATES WITHIN THIS AREA SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN AOB 0.5 INCH PER HOUR THROUGH MID AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF RAIN OVER LONG ISLAND SHOULD TRANSITION TO SNOW DURING THE EVENING AS THE WARM NOSE AOB 850 MB BEGINS TO COOL WITH THE ONSET OF COLD ADVECTION NW OF THE LOW CENTER.

LATEST OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS INDICATES A ZONE OF STRONG 850-700 MB FRONTOGENETIC FORCING WITHIN DEFORMATION AXIS JUST NE OF THE LOW CENTER OFF THE SRN NJ COAST. THIS ZONE OF STRONG FORCING AND MID LEVEL ASCENT WILL DEVELOP NWD THROUGH TODAY AS THE LEAD IMPULSE INTERACTS WITH UPSTREAM TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES AND EJECTS TOWARD SRN NEW ENGLAND. THEREFORE...SNOWFALL RATES WILL UNDERGO A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE FROM NRN NJ INTO SRN NEW ENGLAND BY EARLY EVENING AS ZONE OF ASCENT DEVELOPS NWD AND DEEPENS THROUGH THE DENDRITIC GROWTH LAYER. THE SNOW SHOULD EVENTUALLY DEVELOP BANDED STRUCTURES THIS EVENING WITHIN THE NWD DEVELOPING FRONTOGENETIC ZONE...AND THERE IS ALSO SOME INDICATION THAT THERE COULD BE SOME SLANTWISE CONVECTIVE ENHANCEMENT WITHIN THE BANDS.

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0124 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0351 PM CST FRI FEB 08 2013

AREAS AFFECTED...SRN NEW ENGLAND...LONG ISLAND AND SRN NY...FAR NERN NJ

CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW

VALID 082151Z - 090145Z

SUMMARY...SNOWFALL RATES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE MARKEDLY THIS EVENING ...WITH RATES OF 1-2 INCHES PER HR OVER SRN NY/NERN NJ...TO 2-3 INCHES ACROSS SRN NEW ENGLAND. ADDITIONALLY...STRENGTHENING WINDS MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE COAST.

DISCUSSION...SFC OBS FROM 21Z CONTINUE TO REFLECT A RAPIDLY DEEPENING OFFSHORE CYCLONE...WITH PRESSURE FALLS OF 3-4 MB/HR OBSERVED. RADAR REFLECTIVITY MOSAIC SHOWS HIGHER PRECIPITATION RATES ARE BEGINNING TO SPREAD INLAND ACROSS LONG ISLAND AND TOWARDS RI/SRN MA/SRN CT. HOWEVER...SOME BRIGHT-BAND ENHANCEMENT MAY BE OCCURRING AS MIXED P-TYPE OF RAIN AND/OR SNOW IS PREDOMINANT ACROSS LONG ISLAND...WHERE SFC TEMPERATURES ARE CURRENTLY RANGING FROM 33-35 F. INITIALLY...NEAR- OR ABOVE-FREEZING TEMPERATURES MAY SUPPRESS RATES IMMEDIATELY ALONG THE COAST...BUT WITH LOW-LEVEL COLD ADVECTION INCREASING AS THE CYCLONE TRACKS N-NE...A CHANGEOVER TO PREDOMINANTLY SNOW IS EXPECTED WITHIN THE NEXT 2-3 HRS ACROSS MOST OF THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA.

SNOWFALL RATES WILL BE INCREASING IN CONCERT WITH INTENSE ISENTROPIC LIFT AND LOW-LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS WITHIN A DEFORMATION ZONE. ADDITIONALLY...AN UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE UPPER TROUGH /LOCATED OVER THE UPPER OH VALLEY PER 2130Z WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/ IS FORECAST TO PHASE WITH THE OFFSHORE DEEP-LAYER CYCLONE. AS THIS OCCURS...THE COMBINATION OF STRONG MIDLEVEL HEIGHT FALLS AND UPPER DIVERGENCE WITHIN A COUPLED UPPER JET STRUCTURE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING DEEP-LAYER ASCENT. FORECAST MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW A NEARLY SATURATED COLUMN WITH A DEEP ISOTHERMAL LAYER LOCATED BENEATH THE DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE. THESE FACTORS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR EXTREMELY HIGH SNOWFALL RATES...ESPECIALLY FROM ERN LONG ISLAND INTO SRN NEW ENGLAND...INCLUDING THE BOSTON METRO AREA...AS SUPPORTED BY THE RECENT SUITE OF HIGH-RESOLUTION NUMERICAL GUIDANCE.

..ROGERS.. 02/08/2013

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0125 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0651 PM CST FRI FEB 08 2013

AREAS AFFECTED...ERN NY

CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW

VALID 090051Z - 090345Z

SUMMARY...SNOWFALL RATES OF AT LEAST 1" PER HOUR WILL OCCUR IN A N-S BAND ACROSS ERN NY W OF THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY OVER PARTS OF THE ADIRONDACKS AND CATSKILLS OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

DISCUSSION...AN UPPER TROUGH CROSSING THE LOWER GREAT LAKES REGION CONTINUES IMPINGING ON -- AND WILL EVENTUALLY MERGE WITH -- THE LARGER LOW SE OF LONG ISLAND. AS THIS OCCURS...TWO ASSOCIATED/FORMERLY DISTINCT AREAS OF SNOW CONTINUE TO MERGE INTO ONE LARGER PRECIPITATION SHIELD. LATEST RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS AN EMBEDDED HEAVIER BAND OF SNOW ORGANIZING OVER PARTS OF THE ADIRONDACK AND CATSKILL MOUNTAINS...JUST W OF THE HUDSON VALLEY -- WITH THE MOST INTENSE SNOWFALL INDICATED JUST W AND NW OF ALBANY. WITH LARGE-SCALE ASCENT CONCENTRATED ACROSS THIS ZONE...HEAVY SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS -- SOMEWHAT SEPARATE FROM THE HEAVY SNOW BAND WHICH CONTINUES TO EVOLVE OVER SRN NEW ENGLAND.

..GOSS.. 02/09/2013

SUMMARY…A NOR’EASTER RESULTING IN A BLIZZARD WILL AFFECT MUCH OF COASTAL NEW ENGLAND AND FEATURE SNOWFALL RATES 1-4 INCHES PER HOUR…WIND GUSTS 35-65 MPH…AND VISIBILITIES LESS THAN 1/4 MI.

DISCUSSION…A RAPIDLY DEEPENING SURFACE LOW /ESTIMATED AROUND 983 MB/ 165 MI SSE BID WILL CONTINUE NNEWD THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THIS IS OCCURRING DUE TO VERY STRONG LARGE SCALE ASCENT OVER THE REGION IN CONJUNCTION WITH PHASING MID TROPOSPHERIC TROUGHS AND COUPLING UPPER SPEED MAXIMA ALONG THE ERN SEABOARD. 01Z SURFACE STATIONS OVER SRN NEW ENGLAND NEAR THE COAST HAVE BEEN OBSERVING FREQUENT GUSTS 50-65 MPH AS THE LOW LEVEL PRESSURE GRADIENT INTENSIFIES IN RESPONSE TO THE APPROACHING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. STRONG TO SEVERE WIND GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONCURRENTLY EXPAND NWD AND IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE LATE EVENING HOURS.

ENSEMBLE MODEL GUIDANCE INCLUDING BOTH SREF AND SPC SSEO /CONVECTION ALLOWING MODEL ENSEMBLE/ INDICATE THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST SNOW WILL PIVOT ACROSS SRN NEW ENGLAND AND ALIGN FROM ERN MA NWD ALONG THE MAINE COAST BY THE 08-09Z PERIOD. SPORADIC LIGHTNING HAS BEEN DETECTED OVER LONG ISLAND DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS AND HAS COINCIDED WITH HEAVY PRECIPITATION RATES. CONVECTIVE BURSTS IN THE HEAVIEST BANDING OF SNOW WILL SUPPORT SNOWFALL RATES 2-4 INCHES PER HOUR…WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR OCCASIONAL ISOLD THUNDERSNOW INVOF THE COAST.”

http://www.nycareaweather.com/2013/02/feb-8-9-2013-blizzard-summary/

Flooding: At 12:20 p.m. the intersection of Front Street and First Parish Road near Scituate Harbor was flooded. There was a "road closed" sign on nearby Edward Foster Road, but some drivers were ignoring the sign and driving through the icy water.

Some back yards were flooded on Jericho Road in Scituate, but residents said the flooding hasn't been too bad and that the worst of it is likely over. "“This isn’t as bad as last year so if it stays like this, it’ll be all right,” resident Bob Mahoney said. The storm flooded Oceanside Drive and perpendicular streets. On Sixth Avenue, the water reached the foundations of homes and into garages that had been left open. Many residents had moved their cars to higher ground ahead of the high tide. Brothers Devin and Conor McMahon were surveying the damage. They said they used to live on Oceanside between Fifth and Sixth avenues, but have sinced moved to Barker Road "a nice hill." “This brings back a lot of memories,” Conor McMahon said. “This is pretty much like the storms of our childhood.” Central Avenue, Oceanside Drive and Jericho Road were also briefly closed during the midnight Thursday high tide. In Marshfield, Jennifer Rooney said her family was hunkered down in their Foster Avenue cottage watching the waves crashing over the sea wall and into her yard Friday afternoon. "It's just getting worse," she said. "Supposedly, the tide should be receding, but the waves are still crashing over the wall." Still, Rooney said there hasn't been any major damage to the nearby homes and that residents are prepared to ride out the storm.

Below are suggested media totals for the storm as well as the 7pm totals for Sat Feb. 9 2013. Many media outlets had similar images to the displays depicted actual totals were significantly higher due to intense mesoscale banding that was not easy to forecast early on.

(Courtesy of Accuweather)

Hamden, CT: Saturday February 9, 2013. Residents begin to dig out from 40” of snow

Stranded vehicles left on Long Island were a common scene during the Blizzard of 2013. This was the result due to the storm starting off intense on Friday February 7th, much earlier than officials warned their residents. News12 was forecasting 8-16” the day of the event. The media quickly pointed a finger towards the politicians for not being able to perform at a high enough level to get the roads cleared.

Comparison to the Blizzard of March 11-14, 1888

FEBRUARY 7-8TH BLIZZARD 2013

There were many ways this storm was similar to the great Blizzard of March 1888. Both storms formed from similar synoptic situations; low pressure system/trough arriving from the west combined with low pressure center developing of the mid-Atlantic coast and then ‘bombing’ explosively south of Long Island and slowly tracking off to the northeast. The big difference between the blizzard of 1888 and Nemo was the location of where the ‘bombogenesis’ took place. In 1888 the storm center ‘bombed’ about 100 miles further to the southeast than where Nemo did such. Also, the 1888 storm actually made a small loop south of Long Island, unlike Nemo. This resulted in a mostly rain event for eastern Massachusetts (Boston just had 7” of slushy snow) and Maine in 1888 with the core of the heaviest snow falling from New York City north to Albany and east though western Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut. So, amazing as Nemo was for the residents of Connecticut, the Blizzard of 1888 was more severe in terms of snowfall accumulations and blizzard conditions

It seems the highest snowfall report in Connecticut from Nemo has been 40” at Hamden. In 1888 the peak total was 50” at Middleton. Hartford received 36” during the Blizzard of 1888 (although the ‘official’ total was much lower since the observation site at that time was on a hill and the snow was mostly blown clear from the location). New Haven picked up 44.7” in 1888 versus 34” from Nemo. An interesting aside, is the intensity of the snowfall rates reached during Nemo’s peak. A public report mentions an astonishing 12” of snow fell in one 90-minute period at Coventry, Connecticut Friday night.

NEW HAVEN CLAIMS NEMO HAS NOTHING ON 1888! “The department of the public works have over 100 teams at work removing snow from the streets today. ... To-day the teams are at work in Chapel and Church streets. The city is paying $5 per day for double teams and $3 for single teams.”

That’s the latest storm update—from Friday March 16, 1888.The news appeared on the front page of The New Haven Evening Register, four days after the beginning of the Great Blizzard of 1888.

That blizzard dumped 45 inches of snow on the city, nearly a foot more than New Haven received last weekend when Winter Storm Nemo roared through town, earning the title of biggest blizzard since 1888.

The Blizzard of 2013 caught no one except the most reclusive by surprise. From WICC to “Good Morning America” to every cable news and weather station, the word of a potential blizzard lit up the airways. Given the accuracy predicting Superstorm Sandy and other recent storms, people were far less skeptical about the dire forecast.

Indeed, starting on Friday afternoon, Feb. 8, much of Connecticut got more that 3 feet of snow with wind gusts exceeding 75 mph.

With the bulk of the storm occurring on Saturday, far fewer people ventured out during the storm, making it feasible to rescue those who did get stuck. Most importantly for those of us in Shelton, few people lost electric power — something that was not yet available in 1888.

Virtually nobody died as a direct result of the Blizzard of 2013, although in Shelton and elsewhere people died due to medical issues exacerbated by the snow, ice, cold and wind. http://sheltonherald.com/12636/comparing-blizzards-storm-impacts-evolve-over-time/

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/blizzard_of_88/

Conclusion It can probably be said that winter storm Nemo was the 2nd most intense winter storm event for Long Island, Connecticut, eastern Massachusetts, and perhaps Rhode Island. For Long Island, and Connecticut the Blizzard of 1888 remains unparalleled whereas for Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts the Blizzard of 1978 remains the top event. For southeastern Maine it would appear that Nemo has been the most extreme snowstorm on record. Of course, this is a broad statement and for some localities in Connecticut and Massachusetts Nemo may have been even worse than the storms of 1888 and 1978 and for other localities in the region other major snowstorms may have been worse than any one of the three.

I might add that it is a bit unsettling that two of the most significant storms in the past 300 years to strike the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. have occurred within just four months from one another. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/winter-storm-nemo-a-historical-perspective The Blizzard of 2013 will most certainly be a standout storm for many years to come. The setup and development of the storm was nearly textbook-like, with the phasing of two systems and cold-air damming established with an Arctic high over Québec. Like many big Northeast snowstorms, this storm was also well forecasted, and public preparedness and awareness was notably high in the days leading up to the storm. This latter aspect was a huge factor in limiting injuries and casualties throughout the region.

I have included selected photos of the storm from various sources. While meteorologists (myself included) will marvel at the size of the storm, its evolution and development, and the accuracy of the forecasts, oftentimes photographs are the most powerful element for conveying the sheer awesomeness of an historic event like the Blizzard of 2013. https://www.aer.com/science-research/climate-weather/climate-dynamics/blizzard-2013

News and Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=849268fo-3I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olrV9UDHYsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGhKYblv5T0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaS_WkYPGZY