Blizzapolis Satellite Imagery!

This image, courtesy of Weather.com, shows current snow cover left behind in the wake of the big blizzard. Notice how this was a truly an I-95 eastward storm. Few areas west of the major interstate saw significant snowfall accumulations, while areas east saw up to 35 inches.




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Big Blizzard in New York City - December 26, 2010

We've been tracking a potentially historic snowstorm along the east coast for the better part of the week, and alas, after much confusion, speculation and flip-flop, the models verified on this monster of a nor'easter!

This blizzard, the latest in a series of "North American Blizzards of 2010" proved to be the most intense of all, and is showing that 2010 will go out with a bang!

The post Christmas day event lasted less than 24 hours for many and was responsible for dumping greater than 30 inches of snow in some areas, and producing 80 mph wind gusts in others.


Blizzard history map, courtesy of AccuWeather.com


Blizzard observed snowfall map courtesy of AccuWeather.com

The New York City metro area, including the eastern half of New Jersey, bore the brunt of of the storm.

Captured here is my footage during the epic nor'easter yesterday, December 26, 2010.



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El Niño, NAO Fade Fast... So What's Next?

Two Major Weather Phenomenon Losing Presence as Climate Variability Now Rules

For the past year we've blamed any and every weather extreme on El Niño and its interaction with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Wait, the NAO? Look, I'm not just talking to myself again. The NAO was really present this past winter and it, along with the famous El Niño warm-water effect in the Pacific Ocean, sent moisture-soaked air up from the Gulf of Mexico as a linebacker high pressure block kept the jet stream on a steady ride up the East Coast, therefore forcing Arctic air deep into the South and throwing a plume of wintry precipitation along the I-95 corridor.

The result: record-breaking cold east of the Mississippi, powerful and damaging tornadoes in the southern plains, dozens of snowstorms and even several epic blizzards across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and historic flooding in the Ohio Valley.

But what about this past weekend's torrent in Tennessee, which caused the city of Nashville to become water-logged, causing the famous Grand Ole Opry to flood? Well, climatologists say that El Niño has weakened so much already that it likely had very little impact on the event, and the NAO has pretty much spun itself out by now. That said, our weather pattern is now largely going to be affected by climate variability, or pretty much whatever happens, happens.

Ever-changing and unpredictable! This blog post has been brought to you by reason # 198,765,499,876,534 why I love weather! Enjoy it, it's the only weather you've got!

Blizzards Shatter I-95 Weather Records!

Yesterday’s blizzard, the second to slam the I-95 Corridor from Washington, DC to New York City within just a few days, marked the third severe snowstorm this winter to slam that region (the first being the December 19, 2009 blizzard).

Yesterday’s storm dumped an additional 10.8 inches on Washington, DC – a city that received more than double that amount of snow this past weekend. The extreme events concluded that this winter is now the national capital’s snowiest, with a total of 55.9 inches. This broke the old all-time winter snowfall of 54.4 inches set in 1898-1899.

Baltimore, MD shattered its previous all-time snowiest winter record as well. The 19.5 inches of snow that fell there during the past 24 hours brought this winter's snow total to 79.9 inches. The winter of 1995-96 and its 62.5 inches recently held the record.

15.8 inches of snow fell on Wednesday in Philadelphia. That brings this winter's snowfall total to 71.6 inches, breaking the previous record of 65.5 inches set in 1995-1996.

This winter is also now the all-time snowiest in Atlantic City, NJ and Wilmington, DE. So far this winter these cities received 48.7 inches and 66.7 inches, respectively.

I am sure I don’t have to remind anyone that winter is not over yet…

Recap: February 5 - 6, 2010 DelMarVa Blizzard

The storm began in the mid-Atlantic on Friday morning, February 5, and with all forecasts pointing to a major blizzard bringing the potential for record-breaking snowfall, everyone was wondering, what would The Day After Tomorrow bring? Well, that day is today, Sunday, February 7, and here’s a re-cap of this historic snowstorm…

The storm originated in the Plains States on Thursday and quickly went from noteworthy to notorious, as it dropped snow amounts of 20, 25 and in few instances more than 30 inches. This, accompanied by fierce winds and whiteout conditions, caused near blizzard and even full-fledged blizzard conditions in many locations.




Embedded above are a few images from Accuweather.com and Weather.com, which detail the storm’s incredible snowfall history. The slideshow below is a compilation of photos submitted to us by our Facebook fans on The Northeast Quadrant Facebook Fan Page wall.

In the wake of the February 5 - 6, 2010 DelMarVa Blizzard, seasonal snowfall has already climbed well up the ranks of great historic winters in several mid-Atlantic cities. And there’s more to come!

Our attention now turns to the previously mentioned new storm! The most reliable weather sources indicate another Nor’easter for the east coast, this time focusing more on the Northeast and southern New England than the mid-Atlantic. That is not to say the mid-Atlantic won't see any snow. Right now it seems several inches are possible there, but the heavier snow bands could set up a little further up the coast. The images below capture what we’re thinking...

We’ll continue to keep you posted!

Next Storm Another East Coast Blizzard?!?

It's the weekend and we are preparing for a fun blog post tomorrow that will re-cap the February 5 - 6, 2010 DelMarVa Blizzard, which will include an awesome slideshow of photos submitted by our Facebook fans on the Facebook Fan Page!

Until then, read this analysis from Accuweather.com on the possibility of next week's Tuesday-Wednesday storm becoming ANOTHER BLIZZARD!!!

It seems the operational models are going towards another major blizzard along the Mid-Atlantic (AND Northeast) Wednesday.

Here's what we know...

1. Looks like this one will be a much colder storm as the polar vortex dumps right into the East.
2. Storm should bomb out as the polar vortex catches up with the southern stream system.
3. GFS has a blizzard with snow ratios of 20:1 to 30:1 from BWI to Boston.
4. New Euro has 995 mb low off of Atlantic city NJ Wed AM. That would mean heavy snow for areas from Maryland to new England.
5. DGEX model has the blizzard from NE PA into New England with NYC getting smacked.
   
6. JMA goes along with the DGEX model, so all operational models are going for a major storm Wednesday.
7. Also, wide swath of wind blown snow of 3-6 inches will start in Kansas and move east through Illinois and Ohio to PA before we even get the bomb developing along the coast.

If we get the storm as per the operational models, this would be an unprecedented winter with 4 major blizzards in the East and 3 major blizzards in the Plains and Midwest. With the exception of the 2005 hurricane season, I can not remember a 3 month stretch of such intense storms. 1978 comes to mind, but I think there were only 3 storms that year.