New Storm Map, Totals, Social Weather Summary
UPDATE:NCDC's GIS system a report of 50 inches on 12/19 and 20.4 / 24.2 split between the 19th and 20th, both in Virginia (map). Other meteorologists at AccuWeather pointed out that a nearby ski slope to the 50" report said they only got 25", and any location in that area should not have received more snow on the 20th, even if they split the day at 00Z. So at this time I do not believe either report to be reliable.
Below are a couple of links to a couple NOAA/NASA visible satellite shots showing the snow cover (also check out the CIMSS blog which has a false-color version and an explanation of the "eye" the storm exhibited when in the Gulf).
ORIGINAL BLOG:
We've produced on a new snow accumulation summary map that is zoomed in more than the one I posted yesterday, with additional information.
The storm's snowfall was higher than most predictions and was extremely impressive for a December storm. Philadelphia had it's 2nd highest snowfall in history; 10 states reported more than 20 inches of snow!
Here are the highest amounts from NOAA spotters, by state.
Quinwood, WV: 31.0" Wintergreen, VA: 30.0" East Patchogue, NY: 27.5" Baltic, CT: 26.0" Folsom, NJ: 25.7" Goldsboro, PA: 24.5" Bethesda, MD: 24.0" Robbinsville, NC: 24.0" West Greenwich, RI: 22.0" Bourne, MA: 21.5" Dover, DE: 18.0" Washington, DC: 16.0" Southwest Harbor, ME: 6.5" Landrum, SC: 6.0"
ENLARGE NOAA MAP | HIGH-CONTRAST COLORS
It was a banner weekend for AccuWeather.com's Social Media channels, and by that I mean our Facebook, Twitter, AccuWeather.com Forums and Photo Gallery sections of the site that I oversee. I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of feedback that we got on this storm, and all of us here at AccuWeather really appreciate it. It was like an early Christmas (or late Hanukkah) present!
The photos above are our Moderator's Picks from the Photo Gallery. Our Facebook Fans also uploaded over 150 pics (this one was arguably the funniest). Here's a summary of what was said on Facebook:
Facebook Fan Mandy W. from Washington D.C. called it "a Snowpocalypse". We even got reports from as far away as Nova Scotia, Canada:
Nicole K. : "Its nailing us right now in Nova Scotia! could be 25cms but rain tues and wed...bye bye snow for xmas :-/"
These comments were also of interest:
Nick P.: "Manorville in Suffolk County, Long Island 26". Howling winds all night long gusting near 60 mph. Drifts are 4-5 feet high. Last hour there was thunder snow, falling at rates of about 3" an hour!"
Scott M.: "23 inches in Ocean Township N.J.: We very rarely get this type of snow being so close to the ocean, the town is like paralyzed and roads are still bad and turning to black ice as it's getting colder now."
Jesse R.: "Lightning in new jersey!!!!!"
James F.: "Thundersnow and lightning in Sewell, South Jersey"
Katie Wheatley: "Got married last night in Frederick, MD... where about 20 inches of snow fell! Some guests drove 6 hours to be there!"
We also got some kudos:
George William Nikolis: "I stand corrected Alex. I really thought earlier in the day the storm was not going to take shape in the NYC area. You guys really hit the nail on the head on this storm well before anyone was even talking about it."
Janet Margusity: "I'm proud of my brother and Joe Bastardi & AccuWeather they really had this one."
The Fans also kept us laughing...
Ryan Fannock: "I wish i was at least somewhere that saw a foot."Andrew Bond: "Ryan Take your socks off you will see 2 feet then LOL"
The number of people reporting more than 20 inches of snow was astounding. Here's a list of the highest reports by state from our Facebook Fans (and Twitter followers, when available):
Tyler T. in Louisa, VA: 27.5" (Numerous drifts up to 5 feet!) Nick P. in Manorville, Long Island NY: 26" Stephen E. in Sicklerville NJ: 25" Barbara M. in Hico, WV: 25" Michael Z in Ellicott City, MD: 24" @Default_UserID from Christiana PA: 24" Scott M in Bristol, RI: 22.5" Terri M. in Dartmouth, MA: 22" @roddurrer from Charlottesville, VA: 22" Jeff P. in New Freedom, PA: 22" @etc21048 from Finksburg, MD: 14" Zach R, from the NC/VA border: 14"
Comments (10):
Lyn:
DON'T THE 20 YEAR OLD WEATHER ''GIRLS''
KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS???
SOME DUMB EXPERTS..................
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER ORGANIZATION
GUESSING AT THE WEATHER & YEAR
BY THE WAY, ITS THE END OF 2009
AND SOON BEGINNING 2010.................
FROM JESSE: Uhhhhh... OK. ?
Posted by Lyn | December 27, 2009 5:52 AM
Zach Robinson:
I think the maps are very accurate. In Eastern Kentucky, as noted on the NWS site out of Jackson, only the ridges recieved higher ammounts, with the valleys ( hollers ) where most people live no seeing over four inches. The same is true in Most of WV west of 77. Far SWVA didn't get much, they did a good job there I've been preaching to everyone that this was not a "Blizzard". There were 1-2' ammounts, that was the norm. I think accuweather's purpose in keeping the 18-24" aamounts south of the Mason Dixon Line is not to " over do " the ammount of snow that fell. Yes philly got more than the map indicates, and a few other places did too, mainly surrounding Philly. It was not common. Down where I'm at, a place right down the raod got 27". Indian Valley, Va. NWS reported it. But, it's not in that zone on the map, why? Because it was localized. That's what happens with these storms, very few places get under convective bands. The ones that do however, clean up. ( Indian Valley, Local spots in SW NC, Philly)
The I 64 Co-oridor is the area that got the most 20" + ammounts, thus that is why they are in the 18-24". A heavy band set up over this area, and the low pressure almost stalled for six hours. Those ammounts were not at all widespread, except for in this area. It's a great map.
Posted by Zach Robinson | December 23, 2009 1:32 PM
wxdude64:
Hey Jesse,
I thinl a decimal is missing here for the Hot Springs, VA location. I'm like 11 miles due south and had a 20.6 12-19 and a 3.0 12-20 report for a total of 23.6. I think Hot Springs reported 22.0 on 12-19, didn't see a report for 12-20. A friend in Mustoe, VA about 15 miles north of Hot Springs had a total of 25.8 inches. I'd say 5.0 would be the likely number for a total of 27.0 for them for storm. BTW, did you see the 11-21 report for Duo, WV (Greenbrier County just east of Quinwood)?
36 inches!
Posted by wxdude64 | December 23, 2009 12:03 AM
brian:
hey now
i really enjoy your website and i rely on it as part of my daily weather fix. But, the snow history graphic is seveverly underated for areas of Western North Carolina. Areas around Madison, Buncombe, Yancey counties received anywhere from 12 to 24 plus, not just Mt. Mitchell. The graphics from last week with John Kocet's byline dangerously underscored this storm. i think underhyping the potential for any storm is potentially dangerous. Thanks for all you do here and i hope you seen some pictures of the snow from this area since this area is your old stomping grounds. Also, someone should really let the reins loose on Henry when he sees the big ones, he saw this one but it seems like he got reined in a little from somewhere. Big mistake. We should listen to him. And Joe Bastardi as well. Thanks again, i really do enjoy your blog.
brain
Posted by brian | December 22, 2009 10:10 PM
Richard Cyfers:
FYI,
I mentioned it to Henry too, but I think that the official Accuweather snow history map for the east coast storm on Dec. 18 - 20 is underdone in Southern WV and Eastern KY. The 1-3 and 3-6 category should be replaced by 3-6 and 6-12 respectfully. You may check the reports in these areas. I enjoy your blogs and the information that you include. Thanks.
Posted by Richard Cyfers | December 22, 2009 2:59 PM
John:
5" in East Stroudsburg...not bad considering it was supposed to be well south of NY and philly just 2 days out...yet 3-6" made it to the poconos.
Joe Bastardi was the only one to get this right...sure 24 hours before many jumped on the band wagon...Henry M did ok but he waffles too much...
I think overall the meteorological community should be embarrassed by how they handled this storm all last week...go back and read what they wrote and listen to what was said......again kudos to Joe B.
Posted by John | December 22, 2009 2:42 PM
true servant:
Why do the AccuWX snow history maps for the Dec 09 blizzard not show the snow in Virginia all the way down through Newport News and Hampton? Didn't PHF or Langley AFB report any snow accumulation? Well, we still have snow cover in the shadows this morning here 4 miles southeast of PHF. Check my report on Facebook from yesterday and check PHF observations and reports. Thanks.
Posted by true servant | December 22, 2009 2:28 PM
steve04074:
Hi, Jesse-- Echoing what Bart just said: the 1st draft was more accurate than this one. KPHL recorded 23.2", and many locations in Camden County, due east of Phila., had more than 18", yet they're now showing in the 12-18" band.
And what happened to the accumulations for coastal Maine that the 1st draft accurately showed?
Thank you.
Posted by steve04074 | December 21, 2009 7:54 PM
The Delmarva Johnster Monster:
I was looking at some of the NWS data and some of it doesn't look right. DCA reported 16.4 inches of snow with a water content of only 0.51 inches. That's a 31 to 1 ratio. IAD had 18.0 inches of snow with 0.77 water. BWI had 21.0 inches of snow with 1.51 water, which is a more likely 13 to 1 ratio, given temperatures in the mid 20s during the event. At my residence on the north side of Baltimore, I recorded 15.7 inches of snow with 1.13 water, which is a similar ratio to BWI. At my Ocean City residence, most precipitation fell as rain with temperatures in the low 40s. A change over to snow did occur with about 1 inch of accumulation. Wallops reported 0.3 inches of snow and Salisbury had 2.0 inches of snow.
Posted by The Delmarva Johnster Monster | December 21, 2009 5:48 PM
Bart:
Not sure why AW moved the 18-24 amounts south of mason dixon when PHL reported 23" along with plenty of SE Pa spots in that range
Posted by Bart | December 21, 2009 2:49 PM
