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WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)

Blizzard of 2017 dumps over 3 feet of snow, 138-mph winds

By Jesse Ferrell
3/15/2017, 4:36:58 PM

The Blizzard of 2017 is coming to a close this morning. Up to 42 inches of snow fell in New York state, and snow in northeastern Pennsylvania was heavy enough to cause a roof collapse and two minor avalanches. The storm caused a wind gust to 79 mph in Massachusetts and 138 mph on top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

Blizzard of 2017 - AccuWeather Totals


The map above is a look at the final snowfall totals from the storm. The map below combines the NOAA map of 48-hour snowfall with the list below.

Highest Snow Reports By State:

West Winfield, NY: 42"
Oakland, PA: 34.5"
Woodford, VT: 34"
Stratham, NH: 23.6"
Lisbon Falls, ME: 22"
Granville, MA: 21.5"
Middletown, CT: 21"
Vernon, NJ: 20.3"
Eglon, WV: 16"
Burrillville, RI: 13"
Sabillasville, MD: 11"
Winchester, VA: 8.1"

NOAA Snow Totals


Ski Resort Snow Reports (48 Hour vis. Onthesnow.com):

Smuggler's Notch, VT: 44"
Hunter Mountain, NY: 43"
Mountain Creek, NJ: 36"
Jay Peak, VT: 35"
Camelback Mountain, PA: 34"
Sugarloaf, ME: 30"
Jiminy Peak, Mass: 26"
Mount Southington, CT: 18"
Gunstock, NH: 22"

This animation shows selected loops of the storm's radar, observations, spotter reports, satellite, winds and pressure:

 


Major Cities Snow:

Harrisburg: 17.0"
Poughkeepsie, NY: 16.0"
Hartford, CT: 15.8"
Worcester, MA: 14.4"
State College: 10.1"
New York City: 7.6"
D.C. (Dulles): 7.1"
Boston: 6.6"
Philadelphia: 6.0"

This is what the storm looked like Tuesday evening (see more below about "bombogenesis"):

Blizzard 2017 Tuesday Evening

Blizzard 2017 Tuesday Evening


Wind Gusts Over 70 mph:*

Mount Washington, NH: 138 mph
Wellfleet by the Sea, MA: 79 mph
Plum Island, MA: 77 mph
Barnstable, MA: 74 mph
Oswego, NY: 71 mph
Grandfather Mountain, NC: 70 mph

 



*A reading from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, of 85 mph is not believable... the data looks like they were having problems with their wind equipment. Nearby observations also did not show large gusts.

This satellite image of the storm is from the new GOES-16 satellite (disclasimer: this is non-operational):

GOES-16 Image of Blizzard 2017


Lowest Pressure:

  • 28.82" (Buoy #44029)
  • 28.88" (Newport, RI)

The pressure at the Newport coastal station (BUZM3) fell as rapidly as 0.50" (17 mb) per hour. "Bombogenesis" in meteorology is defined as a pressure fall of 1 mb per hour for 24 hours, so it strengthened much more quickly than that definition!

Pressure Graph Blizzard 2017

Blizzard 2017 Pressure Tendency


Highest Waves:

  • 25.3 feet (Buoy #44030)

Wave Graph - Blizzard of 2017


Locally, all State College needed was 13.1" to be the biggest snowfall in 20 years, but we got 10.1" when all was said and done. Accumulations ranged from 4.9" to 21.6" across Centre County, a stark contrast from end to end!

Blizzard of 2017 - Centre County Snowfall


Here's what it looked like from my back porch:

 


The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)

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WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)

AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager pens the WeatherMatrix blog covers extreme weather worldwide with a concentration on meteorology and social media.