Blizzard of 2006: The Biggest Snowstorm in NYC History

[Dan Robinson]

It's been snowing hard all day, but so far, thanks to our temperatures that once again can't get below freezing, we've only managed about 2 inches on the grass and on cars. And that's only on the hilltops - the valleys have nothing except for a dusting on grass here and there. Nothing on sidewalks or pavement. However, we're starting to cool off now and a dusting has managed to stick to my sidewalk.

 

[HAltschule]

The 18z GFS seems to have the best handle on things. Still looks like there will be a sharp cutoff line to the heavy snowfall north and west. I am expecting a 15:1 ratio here in Albany which would yield about 3-4" of snow. Not much compared to PA, NJ, Long Island, NYC and Boston. While I don't expect a jump further west in the forecast track, it could always happen. But based on pressure falls, the GFS seems to be right on with its track. Have fun Blizzard watching.

 

[B Ozanne]

You must have a nice landscaper and quite a bit of money

Now the question is how far east are you and how close to the coast?

Back to watching Storm Team 8

I'm actually west of you in Darien, about .3 miles from the coast. Here's a link to my weather station. Precip data is down for the winter though. I'm doing that manually.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation...sp?ID=KCTDARIE1

 

[B Ozanne]

Heavy snow band that has been set up for the past several hours, its just starting to pivot through my area (red cross). This band has been associated with thundersnow and 2-4" per hour snowfall rates.

 

[Benjamin Sipprell]

Snowfall totals have come out from Upton just now!

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/productviewnat...NSOKX&version=0

That snowfall band must be due to some frontogenetic forcing aloft as was intially anticipated by the NWS.

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by Benjamin Sipprell
Snowfall totals have come out from Upton just now!

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/productviewnat...NSOKX&version=0

That snowfall band must be due to some frontogenetic forcing aloft as was intially anticipated by the NWS.

Cool, they used my 7 inch total. Wish I was up in the middle of the night to clear the board, can't check again until 1pm. This banding is amazing. This is really common in the big nor'easters. This is what seperates the typical nor'easters and the top 10 storms.

 

[Benjamin Sipprell]

Originally posted by B Ozanne+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(B Ozanne)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Benjamin Sipprell

Snowfall totals have come out from Upton just now!

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/productviewnat...NSOKX&version=0

That snowfall band must be due to some frontogenetic forcing aloft as was intially anticipated by the NWS.

Cool, they used my 7 inch total. Wish I was up in the middle of the night to clear the board, can't check again until 1pm. This banding is amazing. This is really common in the big nor'easters. This is what seperates the typical nor'easters and the top 10 storms.[/b]

Yeah, but forecasting where and when the band will take place is a bigger mess in and of itself. I wish it would meander just slightly eastward ... though it is snowing pretty decently here in western Shelton, I can imagine what places like Easton are experiencing.

 

[Scott A. Kampas]

It has a very nice "eye":
http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/satellite/...e=-1&duration=6

 

[B Ozanne]

Before 2/11:

During 2/12 8:30am

 

[Benjamin Sipprell]

The city sure is getting whallopped with snow at 14z (9 am ET). Though the reflectivities are for a location a couple of km off the ground over NYC, I wonder what are the snowfall rates.

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by Benjamin Sipprell
The city sure is getting whallopped with snow at 14z (9 am ET). Though the reflectivities are for a location a couple of km off the ground over NYC, I wonder what are the snowfall rates.

Manhattan has been under that band for around a half hour now. This could be enough to put them into one of the top 5 snowfalls. They need 18.1".

 

[HAltschule]

I meant to put this post here (sorry for the duplication):

As far as the current blizzard goes, indeed there is incredible banding occurring over NYC...just about ready to move east into Nassau County, Long Island. Another band moving from the Atlantic Northward toward Suffolk County. These are so intense that it is feasible to expect 3-4" per hour of snowfall with them. And it is also likely that there will be some Thundersnow associated with the bands as well since there is so much UVM with them.

TIDBIT: NWS NYC just said they had about 12" of snow on the ground at 7am and they expected an additional 8" of snow with the enhanced banding. They said it was already a Top 10 snowstorm for the city with the potential for a Top 5 Snowstorm if they get up to 20". Wow, 20 inches in NYC...that will shut the city down for days!!!

 

[HAltschule]

PS: Too bad the storm wasn't about 50 miles further northwest. It would have been neat to see how much snow would have fallen in the Catskills. I'm guessing totals of 24-36" would have easily occurred given the upslope.

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by HAltschule
PS: Too bad the storm wasn't about 50 miles further northwest. It would have been neat to see how much snow would have fallen in the Catskills. I'm guessing totals of 24-36" would have easily occurred given the upslope.

Easily if that band had setup over more significan terrain.

I'm thinking we are going to see 24" in places like Danbury, and a few other locations.

 

[B Ozanne]

5" in the past 2.5 hours at my house.