Blizzard of 2013

General Information On The Blizzard of 2013 

          The February 2013 nor'easter, commonly known as "The Blizzard of 2013" and "Winter Storm Nemo." This was an historic snowstorm that pounded the Northeast US with record breaking snowfall and blizzard conditions. This powerful winter storm was formed by two separate storms, one intense low that came up the Eastern Seaboard and another different low that originated from Canada. These systems both joined on the Mid-Atlantic coast to form one of the largest winter storms in United States history. This winter storm packed hurricane force winds and heavy snowfall. For these reasons, it was and still is categorized as a Category 3 rank, which is a major winter storm on the NESIS scale.

          The first low pressure system which was first impacting in the Northern Plains and Great Lakes region of the US and Canada areas, bringing moderate snowfall to those locations. The second low, which was the dominant low, originated fro Texas, shortly after traveled through the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, bringing heavy rains and flooding problems in the effected areas. On February 8th, 2013, the two systems crashed into each other off the Northern Mid-Atlantic Coast, where a rare sea surface anomaly was located, last seen back in the 1950's. This anomaly intensified the storm significantly as is moved up the Northeast Coast, bringing over whelming amounts of snow anywhere from New York City to Bangor, Maine. 

          But in between those areas, substantial amounts of snow fell, in cities like Hartford and Boston. Some snow drifts were measured to be 6, 8, to even as high as 10 feet tall. Once town in Southern Connecticut got nearly the winter's worth of snow in one storm. Hamden, Connecticut got dumped on by 40 inches of snow, making it one of the largest snowstorms in New England history. Snowfall rates were as high over 6 inches an hour in coastal towns. Some notable snowfall amounts were 11.4 inches in Central Park, but just a short distance away on Long Island, some snow totals were as high as 30 to 35 inches of snow. Boston, Massachusetts received 24.9 inches of snow. 

          This storm was so intense small hail and lightning strikes were reported. The highest recorded wind gust was out of Mount Desert Rock, Maine, with a gust of 89 mph. The wind gusts inland were still in excess of 40 to 50 mph. As the storm continued overnight into February 9th, 2013, the storm only got worse. White out conditions as well as blinding snow were the common conditions as far inland as the Berkshires. Lake effect was also pounding towns like Watertown and Oswego, New York. Those areas picked up as much as 16 inches of snow. The storm finally began to exit the region by the afternoon hours of February 9th, but not before leaving 655,000 people in the dark across New England, Long Island, and portions of Northeast New Jersey. Here is a graphic showing the snowfall totals produced by the Blizzard of 2013.

          Blizzard of 2013 Northeast US Timeline

          Snowfall, as well as rainfall began in Southern New England by 9 AM February 8th. The precipitation then overspread the area during the day on February 8th, and by the early evening, as much as 8 inches had already fallen in Milton, Vermont. After that, during the late evening hours on February 8th, a strong and intense band of heavy snow developed south of Long Island, and moves to the north-northeast. This band produced 2 - 3 inches of snow per hour in the Southern and Eastern areas of Connecticut, as well as the locations of Worcester County, Massachusetts, and extending east. Cape May and Nantucket at first were raining, and then switched over to snow during the late evening. This was one because of the sun setting, and two because it was impacted by this heavy band of snow, which considerately dropped the temperatures in the effected ares.

          Overall the storm officially delayed of cancelled 2,700 flights. The heavy snow continued through the night. The snow that fell during the night hours was mainly a more powdery soft snow, but for the areas closer to the rain/snow line, around New York City and Long Island, more wet and heavy snow was found. This is one explanation for why those areas picked up a little less snow, because the ratios were about 6 - 8:1. Compared to snowfall ratios in inland Southern England, which were more like 15:1. Now lets continue with the timings of the Blizzard of 2013. Between about 9 PM February 8th through 6 AM February 9th, the snow really accumulated on the roadways, causing the morning commute for people who work on Saturdays to be nonexistent across most areas in the effected regions. By the the late morning to early afternoon hours of February 9th. the snow began to move out of the New York and Hartford areas.

          The storm actually continued to strengthen as it went up the coast, and even eventually effected the Europe. By the late afternoon and early evening hours of Saturday February 9th, the snowfall has been long gone of New York, and the snow was beginning to heavy Boston and Bangor. At the end of the storm, several deaths had been reported, one being a 13 year old boy and a man died inside a car due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning because of snow clogged tail pipes. When it was all set and done, about 20 other fatalities were caused by the storm, some from Canada, but most occurred in the US. That is the general sequence of events that happened in the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic. Thanks for reading and here is a video taken in Toronto, Canada of the snow produced by The Blizzard of 2013.