Blizzard of 2016 From Above

The blizzard of 2016 was a very impressive and interesting storm. Two feet of snow covered areas from Virginia to NYC. Luckily (since I'm a snow lover) the Connecticut shore did get about a foot of snow. However, the northwest hills of Connecticut were not as lucky. 

Check out the sharp cut off of snow accumulation in northern Connecticut, as seen in these date little images taken just a day after the storm. 

You can also see the extent of the snowcover! What a massive storm! 

20 Years Since the Blizzard of 1996

I'm officially starting to feel old. It was 20 years ago today January 6, 1996 that a blizzard hit the northeast burying us in close to two feet of snow! 

I actually remember this storm pretty well. I was only 8 at the time but I remember it being the very first snowstorm that gave me not one but two days off from school! In fact, school was cancelled the night before! Knowing snow was on the way and school was already cancelled was one of the best feelings a kid could have! 

I wish I had some time to dig up some old pictures from the storm because I'm sure they're great ones. My siblings and I were still young, so the snow depth was quite impressive compared to our small frames. 

I even remember my dad having to snowblow a path through our backyard gate so we could open it. This way we were able to slide down the hill in our backyard, through the gate, down the side yard, over the 4 foot snow banks on the curb and go airborne into the street!! Before you freak out about anyone getting hit by cars, it was a dead end street and all the neighborhood kids were having fun while the parents kept and eye out for traffic. It was an AWESOME time! 

Here's a cool graphic of the weather pattern that the storm formed in. 

Hilarious Snow Day Cartoons and Memes

It's pretty safe to say at this point that Boston is having a historic winter. They've already broken the record for the most snow in a seven day period and are on the verge of breaking the record for most snow in a 30 day period (which they actually will do in probably 17 days!). As of the morning of February 9th 2015, Boston has 60 inches of snow on the ground. With a massive and possibly historic cold coming at the end of this week, the funny cartoon makes even more sense! I found this first cartoon being retweeted on Twitter by @MBTATransitPD  I thought it was hilarious! 

The next cartoon was also discovered on Twitter and could apply to any blizzard. 

This next one is very appropriate coming just days after Groundhog Day. This is exactly how many are feeling in the Boston area! 

As the northeast continues to get snow storm after snow storm, snow days have piled up just as high. Some districts are even running out of make up days and may be end up going to school until June 30th! So the meme below is beyond appropriate for the northeast this winter, is Oprah giving out free snow days? I think so! 

Blizzard of 2015 Snow Maps! #Juno

There's been some crazy images coming out on the internet the last few days! From computer models of historic proportion to statewide blizzard warnings. New England is sure in for a ride as the Blizzard of 2015, also called Juno by The Weather Channel inches closer to the region. Here are some of the images I found on Twitter that really stood out to me. The first one is a satellite image of the storm engulfing the east coast on Monday morning (1/26/2015).  As you can see it's a massive storm, which will only get bigger as the parts come together off the mid-atlantic coast! 

The next photo wasn't one I found online but one I took of my TV (Not the best photograph). Although Connecticut is a small state (3rd smallest by geography) It's still impressive to have the entire state in a Blizzard Warning! 

If you're not familiar with Connecticut weather, it's actually pretty interesting and variable. Due to the maritime influence and changes in elevation, you can have very different weather from corner to corner in this state. Normally, areas to the northwest (upper left in this map) gets the most snow due to higher elevation and colder weather. The least amount of snow usually falls in the south east corner of the state (the bottom right).  This area, which includes New London, usually gets a maritime influence, sending temps up just enough to change snow to a mixture or even rain in many cases. With that said, most snowfall maps for Connecticut are striped in different shades of accumulation but this storm is a sold 15-30 inches across the state! 

Finally, below is a computer model map that came out on Sunday (1/25/15) that shows the worst case scenario for snowfall. How often do you see  >30 inches across the entire state of Connecticut, even if it's just a computer model! 

The Weather Channel Calls Blizzard Juno...

Just thought this would be funny! Historic Snowstorm Juno will be big! 

Historic Blizzard to hit Northeast for 1/26/15 to 1/27/15

On Friday the 23rd we were preparing for a small but decent size snowstorm, something that has been lacking all winter so far. There was some mention of a storm right in its heels for early the following week, however on Friday it looked like it was going to be weak and move to the south like a lot of storms this year. 

Well Saturday was met by surprise, not only by the 6 inches of snow (2-5 inches were predicted) but also the fact that temps had risen so fast, changing everything to rain. Another surprise was that now all major computer models (Euro, GFS, NAM) had a major snowstorm for the northeast on Monday into Tuesday. 

Now it's Sunday morning the 25th and we wake up to Blizzard Warnings in southern Connecticut! NWS Boston calling it a possible HISTORIC storm! 

The potential exists for 1-2 feet of snow, winds from 49-60mph and temps in the low 20's, meeting the criteria for blizzards. Since it will be so cold, the snow will be light and fluffy, which will result in quick accumulation but also very high drifts! 

One models view of what the storm will look like. 972 mb low on the benchmark with high pressure to the north supplying cold air is the perfect recipe for snow! 

Notice the dark blues over southern Connecticut. This indicates heavy snowfall rates. 

And here's the European model's snowfall projecting. That turquoise blue along the Ct/Ny boarder is 30+ inches of snow! The whitish/grey color represents 12-24 inches of snow! 

This looks like it's going to be a whopper! Wonder if it will be as historic as the 2013 blizzard (aka Nemo) that dumped 38 inches of snow in my yard in one night, leaving us snowed in for 3 days! check out that storm here. 

Also, if you're in the northeast, here's some movies you might enjoy while being snowed in during the blizzard! (You have to some thing to ward off cabin fever!) 

More updates will follow as the storm gets closer! 

A Guide to Measuring Snow by NOAA!

Below is a cool infographic on how to properly measure snow from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Since snow doesn't always fall straight to the ground from the clouds, you need to be careful to not measure in drifts that farm near buildings or other objects. Also take multiple measurements to insure the best reading! 

This is definitely something fun to do with the kids or any weather enthusiast and if done correctly you can report your results to your local National Weather service office or even your local tv meteorologist who will be certainly looking for snow measurements on social media (Twitter, Facebook). Take a pic of your ruler in the snow and send it with the average measurement to your local meteorologist and it may end up on tv! 

Here's a measurement I took in early 2014. We got just about 6 inches of snow! 

The Great Blizzard of 2013 One Year Later

Radar during the storm when an intense snow band dropped up to 3 inches an hours of snow, including some hail and thunder snow! 

Total snowfall from the blizzard mapped by NWS Boston, south central CT (where I live) was the bullseye (dark purple) with over 30 inches of snow! 

My driveway on the morning of February 9th 2013! 

The satellite image of the powerful storm as it moved away from the coast. It looks almost like a hurricane! 

Blizzard Nemo Ramping up

Final snow total 1/21/12

Below is your typical photo of a ruler in the snow, ended up with 8 inches in my yard! The other photo is of a snow covered azalea bush.

Surprise accumulation

Storms not over yet but southern Connecticut seems to be the bulls eye for snow totals, almost 7.5 inches so far! Was only expecting 3-5 inches. I love when we get a little more than expected!