Snowicane: 90 MPH Winds, 3 Feet of Snow!
UPDATE 3/3: An telling pic and well-said caption from one of our Facebook Fans who went through the storm:
UPDATE 2/27: Snow list below tweaked. A couple of good Blog Comments below - one attributing the 143 mph gust to Mount Washington, not Mount Davis, but their Facebook Page maintains the 132 mph reading. Also from a blog commenter, two additional wind gusts: Cape Elizabeth, ME: 94 mph gust; Portland, ME Jetport: 78 mph. And some great Massachusetts damage photos on the Gallery. Our article lists more official wind gusts and says the storm knocked out power to more than 1 million people.
UPDATE 8 PM: Snow list updated again below. There is a 143 mph wind gust from Mount Davis in Pennsylvania attributed to WJAC-TV on our Facebook Page, but I have been unable to obtain further information on it.
UPDATE 1 PM: Snow list below updated. As always, plenty of great pics from our Facebook & Photo Gallery Fans. This is a good article which outlines some of the impressive impacts of the storm.
LATEST MODERATORS PICKS: TAG "SNOW" | SEE ALL | SEE ALSO Facebook Photos
What do you call a storm with 90 MPH winds and 3 feet of snow? We're calling it a "snowicane". The storm is immense and appears to show an "eye" on radar this morning.*
*This is probably a warm seclusion (click here for similar example), -- it is not an eye caused by high winds like a hurricane.
Buoy #44018 fell to 28.68" (971 mb) with a missing observation on one side and an hour before the next (meaning it could have gone even lower there). That's the same pressure that a Category 2 Hurricane would have, and even lower than the GFS predicted. At that point it was falling 0.44" per hour (THAT my friends would make your ears pop). Blog reader Joey said on Facebook "I have one of those weather glass barometers... and the water is actually overflowing out of the spout!" The nearest official land reading was Nantucket with 28.72" (I had previously said Nantucket but blog reader Sean corrected me). Here's a chart at that time from MesoWest.
HIGHEST SNOW AMOUNTS BY STATE (NWS SPOTTER REPORTS):
Randolf, NH: 39.6" Kiamesha Lake, NY: 38.0" Bayard, WV: 37.8" Oakland, MD: 36.0" Ludlow, VT: 32.3" Bear Creek, PA: 28.0" Montague, NJ: 26.5" Jackman, ME: 22.0"
Previous Lists At Bottom
Ski Resorts: Hunter mountain reporting 41" storm total per blog comment; their 72-hour total is 60 inches, but that includes part of the previous storm. Other 72-hour totals: Sugarbush, VT: 52", Belleayre: 41".
WIND GUSTS OVER 70 MPH:
Mount Washington, NH: 132 mphIsle Of Shoals Buoy, NH: 90 mphBath, ME: 81 mphSalem, MA: 77 mphBrooklin, ME: 73 mph
From our news story: Gusts at official, low-elevation observation sites, well away from the coast in New England, reached 68 mph; gusts of 67 mph were recorded at two official stations over the interior mid-Atlantic states.
The storm is so strong, it's pushed snow all the way back to Indiana and Michigan!
| SATELLITE ONLY (SMOOTHER)
Previous Snow Lists:
2 PM: Franconia Notch, NH: 39.0" (24 hours!) Stamford, NY: 36.0" Bayard, WV: 33.2" Bear Creek, PA: 28.0" Montague, NJ: 26.5" Jackman, ME: 22.0"
8 AM : Randolf, NH: 37.6" Prattsville, NY: 30.0" Wantage, NJ: 20.0" Pocono Summit, PA: 19.0" North Jackson & Thompson, PA: 17.0" Woodford, VT: 8.5" Multiple Locations, MD: 8.0"
Comments (13):
ken:
As someone who has lived through the effects of hurricane damage I do think it is irresponsible to equate this storm with a hurricane. Its hyperbole. Just state the facts: It was a powerful Noreaster.
Posted by ken | February 27, 2010 11:22 AM
Dave O'Neil:
2 day storm total 24 inches at Chalk Hill Pa. Thursday night and Friday were brutal here in the Laurel Highlands just as you guys predicted. Keep up the good work as the NWS seems timid about these big storms.
Posted by Dave O'Neil | February 27, 2010 9:32 AM
Matt:
The 143 mph wind gust mentioned on WJACTV was referring to Mount Washington, not Mt.Davis PA. The local meteorologist was just giving the 45 mph gusts in johnstown as a point of reference.
FROM JESSE: Thanks, makes more sense.
Posted by Matt | February 26, 2010 9:35 PM
Sam Wilkinson:
I so wish I was back home in New York. You all have stolen all my Missouri snow. lol. I don't ever recall the Mid-Altanic and the North-East get pounded this hard by winter weather. I'm envious. lol
Posted by Sam Wilkinson | February 26, 2010 6:52 PM
Michael Finkbeiner:
Final tally from Greenwich CT
from the Emergency Management Director
Snow: 7 inches
Max Wind Gusts 20 mph
I could cite airport and buoy data from all over, but the story is the same. HYPED Forecasts.
In free speech 1st amendment doctrine, there is clear law that it is illegal to false cry "FIRE" in a crowded theater.
Can any use of the "hurricane" word in New England for a winter rain event be viewed differently?
Your readers and users say NOT!
Posted by Michael Finkbeiner | February 26, 2010 5:33 PM
Jose Quijada:
Yes, a snowicane! I measured btw 24" to 26" inches IMBY in Long Pond, PA (close to the Pocono Summit town line). Drifts are 4 or 5 feet high.
Just amazing storm not necessarily by QPF amounts, but by the unusual track and low pressure levels.
Posted by Jose Quijada | February 26, 2010 4:54 PM
rick christ:
Great job by accuweather for not being afraid and calling them as they see them. Perhaps the NWS will print another article in my local paper next week saying they under hype every storm. Thanks for the heads up, really helped me plan my business.
Posted by rick christ | February 26, 2010 4:15 PM
steve04074:
Hi, Jesse-- Didn't know if you'd seen this updated report from NWS Gray on wind gusts in Portland area last night:
94 mph! Wow! Cape Elizabeth is a southern suburb of Portland, on Casco Bay.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/ME/024.html#REP
Local Storm Report
02/25/2010 1030 PM
Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland County.
Non-thunderstorm wind gust m94.00 mph, reported by public.
Broad Cove section. Measured by anemometer on roof of house.
Posted by steve04074 | February 26, 2010 4:14 PM
tom f:
Hmmm, don't see NWS or Weather Channel retracting their criticism of Accuweather for using the term "snowacane" & causing unnecessary fear..
Posted by tom f | February 26, 2010 1:57 PM
mario:
Hi Jesse, tell me it ain't so that we have 2 more storms on the gfs models? One on march the 3/4 & the 13th...The gfs has both at 980mb for the midaltantic...:(
Posted by mario | February 26, 2010 12:22 PM
Chris Marvin:
Jesse - The the info. regarding 39" at Franconia Notch NH in 24 hrs. per the NWS spotter report could be incorrect. Franconia Notch is the base of Cannon Mt. ski area and according to the Cannon Mt. Web site and snow phone Cannon has rec'd less than a foot. Not that it might not get a foot today. Might the spotter be the spotter from Crawford Notch which is base of Mt. Washington? 8" - 1' of snow and snowing hard here in Greenwich CT
Posted by Chris Marvin | February 26, 2010 12:17 PM
Debbie:
Jesse, Is it ever going to stop snowing in Northwest Jersey??
Posted by Debbie | February 26, 2010 11:13 AM
Brian Clark:
Hey Jesse,
The peak wind gust at Mount Washington for yesterday was 132.3 mph, just before midnight. I think that the Mesowest website only picks up the gusts the we report in our METAR obs.
FROM JESSE: Excellent, thanks, I'll correct that.
Posted by Brian Clark | February 26, 2010 10:18 AM
