Wow... What. A. Storm! That's probably the best way to describe the Blizzard of 2018. This was a winter storm that wreaked havoc from Florida all the way to eastern Canada. 12 - 18 inches of snow fell in spots along the New Jersey Shore into eastern New England. Additionally, Norfolk, Virginia saw nearly a foot of fresh snowfall. There was 3-6 inches into the eastern Carolinas, and even coatings of snow were seen across northern Florida (including Tallahassee).
Not to be outdone, the storm produced some pretty impressive, damaging winds. Gusts over 50 mph were reported in the mid-Atlantic, while parts of New England experienced gusts over 60 mph. One of the highest gusts seen in New England was in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where a 76 mph gust was recorded.
#GOESEast captured the full path of the #BombCyclone exhibiting a rare and extremely rapid rate of intensification on the East Coast with some of the coldest wind chills of the season and near zero visibility in the snow bands @NWS. #Blizzard2018 More: https://t.co/mbgRYot60A pic.twitter.com/GKlFTaLJBI
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) January 4, 2018
It was an historic storm from a meteorological standpoint. The system lost 59 millibars of pressure in 24 hours, eventually falling to a minimum pressure of 949mb. This is known as "bombogenesis", although the actual criteria is a 24mb drop in 24 hours. As a comparison, the Superstorm of 1993 had a minimal pressure of 960mb. Even Hurricane Sandy was 946mb when it made landfall along the New Jersey coast.
The blizzard also created a fair amount of coastal issues. A high tide over 15 feet was recorded in Boston and flooded parts of the financial district. This beat the previous record high tide that was set during the Blizzard of 1978. There was significant coastal flooding in New Hampshire and Maine as well. Unfortunately, over 20 people were killed as a result of the blizzard including several car related fatalities from Georgia to Canada.
A heavy snow band is about to rotate onshore and into southern #NJwx. Visibiliity will be reduced with strong winds as we enter the rush hour. pic.twitter.com/25zBo9TbxW
— WeatherWorks (@WeatherWorks) January 4, 2018
