Blizzard of 2006: The Biggest Snowstorm in NYC History

[HAltschule]

What amazes me is the cutoff line for the heavy snow. My house is exactly 160 miles from NYC. '
We have had about 1/2 inch compared to 23" in NYC. Even Poughkeepsie which is about 90 miles south got 5-9".

 

[B Ozanne]

I don't doubt NYC received 11" in 3 hours, they were under that 35+dbz band for almost an hour.

Looks like another light band is rolling through NYC. Its not going to get them to the record, but it will help even the snow totals up. Although, it doesn't look anything like the photos from 1888 and even the 1996 blizzard. Guess the difference was the lack of heavy winds during this storm.

 

[Jonathan Whitehead]

this is something i just recently ran across:


http://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/jsp/summary_sys.jsp

 

[Ericka B. Gray]

Arlington, Massachusetts reporting in at 12". Amazing amount of banding with totals varying greatly from one town to the next depending on where the bands are. Still snowing.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

That is really impressive. Like Dewey I wish I could have went. I looked at it the other day with a piece of paper on the screen to mark out how far west it would equal(since I've only been really far west). Why I had to do that to see how stupidly far of a drive it'd be I'm not sure.

Anyway, what will be interesting is the warm sector rain of this next storm(given NYC area is in the warm sector...looks to be....and it produces much rain...eh maybe).

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/model/gfs1...hr_sfc_prcp.gif

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/model/gfs1...hr_sfc_temp.gif

Then back to...

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/model/gfs1...hr_sfc_temp.gif

What a mess.

 

[Ericka B. Gray]

Mike, from personal experience, it's a loonnnnggggg drive. Looks like some flooding is in our future!

 

[HAltschule]

Getting closer to the ALL-TIME record Snowstorm in NYC. 24.8" as of 1:00 pm. The question is...did enough fall since then to reach the 26.4" record? The latest NWS discussion has not ruled out the possibility. We'll find out this evening when the final measurement is made.

Why they don't make special measurement times when such a historic record may be broken is beyond me. NWS policy....UGH.

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by HAltschule
Getting closer to the ALL-TIME record Snowstorm in NYC. 24.8" as of 1:00 pm. The question is...did enough fall since then to reach the 26.4" record? The latest NWS discussion has not ruled out the possibility. We'll find out this evening when the final measurement is made.

Why they don't make special measurement times when such a historic record may be broken is beyond me. NWS policy....UGH.

No reason they can't change the ob times. As long as they only clear the snow board every 6 hours. Its a crapshoot though, it'd be hard to estimate when the maximum 6 period is going to be.

I only recorded another 1.2 since 1pm. I guess NYC has a chance. My final tally is 20.2". All is quiet now.

 

[HAltschule]

IT'S OFFICIAL: BIGGEST SNOWSTORM IN NEW YORK CITY HISTORY

...26.9 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN NEW YORK CITY...CENTRAL PARK...

AS OF 4 PM...A SNOWFALL OF 26.9 INCHES HAS BEEN MEASURED IN CENTRAL PARK NEW YORK NEW YORK SINCE THE SNOW BEGAN SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT APPROXIMATELY 430 PM.

THIS EXCEEDS THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST AMOUNT OF 26.4 INCHES SET DURING THE DECEMBER 26-27 1947 STORM.

Impressive.

 

[B Ozanne]

IT'S OFFICIAL: BIGGEST SNOWSTORM IN NEW YORK CITY HISTORY
quote]

That's awesome, I seriously feel like I just broke some sort of record. All from a storm that was sill in question Saturday morning. This also brings NYC over 40" for several consecutive years now.

Who would have guessed after January.

 

[Jay McCoy]

Just imagine the Monday morning commute!! Too bad it isnt next monday and a national holiday. Still will be a good day to call in sick. With so much snow even with the plaows where do you shove that much snow. Do you clear the strees by burying the cars and siedwalks? Be simpler just to shove it all to the bay.

Question for people living in NY. I know in places like DC and Pittsburg the rivers freeze up. Does the river system in NY city ever have an ice issue??

 

[rdale]

"Why they don't make special measurement times when such a historic record may be broken is beyond me. NWS policy....UGH."

Because messing with the 6hr interval messes with the data...

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by Jay McCoy
Just imagine the Monday morning commute!! Too bad it isnt next monday and a national holiday. Still will be a good day to call in sick. With so much snow even with the plaows where do you shove that much snow. Do you clear the strees by burying the cars and siedwalks? Be simpler just to shove it all to the bay.

Question for people living in NY. I know in places like DC and Pittsburg the rivers freeze up. Does the river system in NY city ever have an ice issue??

I'm not sure if they still do this, but most of the snow gets dumped into the rivers (East or Hudson). It's remarkable how they get all that snow out. The side streets are a nightmare, but by tomorrow afternoon there will hardly be any snow in Times Square.

The rivers don't really have an icing problem. It is pretty much just the ocean around Manhattan so its salt water. Icing doesn't become a problem until you get north of the Tappan Zee Bridge, even then on very cold years. In the winter 2002/2003 they were running ice breakers up the Hudson to get heating oil up to Albany.

Its cool in the spring when its nice and warm in NYC and you see large chunks of ice floating down the Hudson.

 

[B Ozanne]

Originally posted by rdale
"Why they don't make special measurement times when such a historic record may be broken is beyond me. NWS policy....UGH."

Because messing with the 6hr interval messes with the data...

It's easy, keep two seperate snow boards going. One you look at during the regular intervals. The other to optimize snowfall. Hindsight though, nobody even considered this to be a record snowstorm. It just sort of happened.

Edit: Does anybody know the details of the Central Park measurements? Is there a certified observer there?

 

[rdale]

"The other to optimize snowfall."

Regardless, if it's done more frequently than every 6 it can't go in the record books.