After record snow deficits and warmth in December 2014, Mother Nature completely switched gears ushering record breaking cold and a seemingly endless parade of winter storms for January and February 2015. Some of the coldest air in over 20 years poured into the Northeast, leading to consecutive days with temperatures 10 to 25 degrees below normal. In terms of snowfall, New England was by far hardest hit where an astonishing 50 - 80 inches of snow fell in under three weeks, challenging the record for snowiest winter! Let's look into the highlights from the heart of winter 2015.
Shortly after ringing in the New Year, the biggest wintry event since Thanksgiving hit on January 3rd leaving a swath of several inches of snow along with coatings of ice. Right on its heels, an Alberta Clipper hit the Mid Atlantic just in time for the morning rush January 6th with another few inches of snow. Very cold air followed on the 7th and 8th as temperatures fell 15 – 20 degrees below normal. Then, a substantial freezing rain event occurred January 18th. Eastern Pennsylvania through Connecticut bore the brunt of the storm as 0.10 – 0.25 inches of ice coated up roadways resulting in numerous accidents. Temperatures rebounded through the 20th before the next coastal system struck January 23rd - 24th. This time, the Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey were the winners with widespread amounts of 5 – 8 inches.
Attention then quickly turned to a developing nor’easter expected to clobber folks from Philadelphia through New England in one of the largest snowstorms in recent memory January 26th – 27th. However, the coastal storm formed a mere 40 miles farther east than anticipated leaving those in the New York City and Philadelphia metro area with less than half of the expected snowfall. On the other hand, those from eastern Long Island to New England saw the brunt of the historic blizzard with very heavy bands pummeling the region in 2 – 4" per hour snowfall rates! Besides the intense snow, the slow moving storm produced roaring winds to 50 - 80 mph solidifying it as a true blizzard. When all was said and done, 20 – 35 inches of snow buried folks from Islip, NY through Worcester, MA and southern New Hampshire. The 22.1 inches recorded at Logan Airport in Boston ranks as its highest ever 24 hour January snowfall and its third highest 24 hour snowfall of all-time. Following this blizzard, New England entered into an exceptionally busy pattern as a conveyor belt of coastal storms bombarded the area for nearly three weeks. This led to one of the snowiest periods ever in New England history.
As we flipped to February, another major coastal storm plowed through New England for the 1st and 2nd. 1 – 3 inches per hour snowfall rates and wind gusts to 40 mph led to another round of blowing and drifting snow. Totals ranged 8 – 16 inches which again ranked among the snowiest single day totals on record for spots. After 2 - 4 inches of snow February 4th and 5th, a disturbance rode along a stalled arctic front in New England which brought nearly 50 hours of continuous snowfall February 7th to the 10th. While snow was not incredibly intense, the longevity of the storm allowed 1 to 2 feet to accumulate with those in Plymouth and Norfolk County, MA receiving close to 30 inches! Once again, the snowfall from February 9th ranks among the top ten highest single day totals ever.
A few minor events from the 11th to 13th were followed by two very potent arctic fronts which blasted the Northeast with relentless cold and more powerful snow storms. The first front swept through February 12th with temperatures crashing 10 to 20 degrees below normal on the 13th. Then for Valentine’s Day, an impressive Alberta clipper barreled through the Northeast. This not only brought a reinforcing shot of abnormally cold air but intense snow squalls and howling winds up to 50 mph produced white out conditions for the Mid Atlantic before transitioning to an outright blizzard for New England. Again, incredible snow bands dumped 2 – 4" per hour rates over New England with another 10 to 20 inches of snow in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. High winds then continued in the wake of the storm, with wind chills falling to 15 to 30 below across the I - 95 corrdior!
On February 16th, Mother Nature finally took her focus away from New England and brought a winter storm to the Mid Atlantic. Thanks to the unusually cold air in place, a southern tracking storm brought Virginia through South Jersey 4 to 8 inches of snow. Areas as far south as Richmond, VA recorded some of the highest totals. See the satellite image below to see the snow cover extent.
The frigid temperatures continued through the 20th with nearly consecutive days with highs in the 20s and teens and overnight lows reaching the single digits below zero. Atlantic City, NJ fell to -6 the morning of February 21st which ranks among the coldest February temperatures ever on record for the site. The image below depicts just how cold it was across the Garden State.
Of course, the endless parade of winter storms quickly returned February 21st – 22nd as a moisture plume out of the Gulf ushered in heavy snow and significant ice accumulations. Again the focus for the heaviest snow occurred over the Mid Atlantic with widespread 6 – 12 inches of snow blanketing northern Virginia and Maryland. Even New England got hit with 3 – 6 inches of snow, which only exasperated the 25 – 35 inch snow depth already in place. After the snow ended, a prolonged period of freezing rain led to ice accretion of 0.10 – 0.25 inch across the region. The month of February finished out on a quieter note with just a clipper system on the 26th, but temperatures remained 10 to 20 degrees below normal.
So just how much of a snow surplus did the Northeast (mainly New England) endure in February 2015? And just how do the frigid temperatures of Janaury and February 2015 compare to past years? See the graphs below. Of course, winter did not end in February and our next newsletter will discuss the wintry threats in March.
