North American blizzard of 2006
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The Blizzard of 2006 was a nor'easter that began on the evening of February 11, 2006. It dumped heavy snow across the Northeast United States from Virginia to Maine through the early evening of February 12 and ended in Atlantic Canada on February 13. The major northeast cities from Baltimore to Boston received at least a foot of snow, with a record-setting amount of 26.9 inches (68.3 cm) in New York City.
In addition to the heavy snow, coastal flooding from storm surge was reported, particularly in Massachusetts.[1] Storm surges have been recorded as high as 3 feet (1 m).[citation needed]
The low pressure area began forming in the Southern states a few days prior to the Blizzard striking, eventually merging with a northern stream system. A trough on the East Coast brought the system up the coast, and cold to the north eventually slowed the system to a crawl. As the system completed bombogenesis, mesoscale banding features impacted the entire I-95 Corridor.
The low pressure center was so deep that somewhat of an eye actually formed. Rarely do eyes form on storms other than hurricanes, and it is especially rare in extratropical cyclones. NASA took a satellite picture of the eye of the storm; the eye was located south and east of southern New Jersey in this picture.
A Reuters news article found on Yahoo News titled Northeast US hammered by record blizzard states that two casulties occured as a result of the snow: in Virginia, a man died due to his truck sliding off of a Virginia highway; in Baltimore, a person died in a house fire as a result of snow delaying rescue workers from getting to the fire. A third fatality occured in a weather-related accident in Nova Scotia. [1]
Impact
Connecticut
For the most part, Connecticut managed to avoid major problems, despite the enormous snowfall amounts. As of mid-morning, more than 19 inches (48 cm) of snow had fallen in Hartford and it was still falling. There were only isolated individual power outages. A total of 18 inches (46 cm) fell in the small Sandy Hook village.[2] Fairfield saw over 30 inches (76 cm) of snow, more than any other reported station.
Delaware
New Castle County and Wilmington felt the brunt of this storm with 14-15 inches (35-38 cm) of snow. Kent and Sussex counties to the south mixed with rain for a while, and saw significantly less snow accumulations, mostly in the 6 inch (15 cm) range.
District of Columbia
The city of Washington, D.C. missed the worst of the storm. The city received about 9 inches (22 cm) of snow, far less than in the suburbs. Approximately 3,000 people lost electricity in the District of Columbia.[3] However, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (just across the Potomac River) was closed.
Maryland
Maryland was hardest hit by power outages. In the Baltimore area, more than 62,000 people lost electricity, plus another 16,000 in Montgomery County and 37,000 in Prince George's County. The heaviest snow in Maryland fell from the northern suburbs of Washington, D.C., to the Baltimore area. These areas overwhelmingly saw over a foot of snow. Snowfall rates of 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) per hour were common, and thundersnow occured. Snowfall amounts of up to 21 inches (53 cm) were reported in Columbia, 13.1 inches (33.3 cm) in Baltimore, 17 inches in Catonsville, and a foot in Potomac. This was the area's heaviest snow in three years. Lesser amounts occured in western and southern parts of the state.
Massachusetts
The most serious coastal problems were in Massachusetts. The heaviest snow was in the central part of the state, where snow amounts of up to 20 inches (50 cm) were reported. Coastal areas, particularly around Cape Cod saw lesser amounts as it was mixed with sleet at times, but winds of up to 60 mph (95 km/h) whipped up the ocean with storm surges of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) and led to some coastal flooding, plus offshore waves of up to 25 feet (8 m). Logan International Airport saw 90% of its flights cancelled at the peak of the storm.
There were no power outages or major accidents in the state, despite the conditions. [4]
New Jersey
The impact of the blizzard in northern New Jersey was strong enough to stop the NJ Transit bus service between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., although trains continue to run (with some delays).[5] Many roads remained closed. Business were closed for most of the day. 16,000 people were without power in the state. Northeastern New Jersey saw the brunt of the storm; 21" of snow fell at Newark airport.
New York
The Greater New York City Area received the brunt of the blizzard. All three of the airports in the New York City area (LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport) were closed during the record blizzard, for the first time since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Like the Blizzard of 1996, this winter storm does not meet the criteria to be called a blizzard, however. The winds were not strong enough, and visibility was not poor enough.
Central Park received 26.9 inches (68.3 cm) of snow, the largest amount for a single storm since records began, breaking the record of 26.4 inches (67.1 cm) that fell in December, 1947. By comparison, the blizzards of 1996 and 2003 dropped 20.2 and 19.8 inches (51.3 and 50.3 cm) in Central Park respectively.
The snow removal cost in New York City alone is estimated at about $27 million. [6]
Pennsylvania
Snowfall totals were measured at 12 inches (30 cm) at Philadelphia International Airport, but 35 miles (56 km) to the west in West Caln Township there were 21 inches (53 cm). Philadelphia International Airport remained open throughout the storm, although about 50% of flights were cancelled. There were also power outages in the Philadelphia area, with about 10,000 customers losing power.[7]
Rhode Island
The Governor of Rhode Island, Donald Carcieri, has declared a statewide state of emergency due to the blizzard conditions.[8] The Providence Journal reported that state accumulations were generally between 9 and 19 inches (23 to 49 cm) of snow. Generally, Providence County received the heaviest accumulations in the state (see the chart below). On February 12, the bulk of the snow ended around 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, with flurries lasting through the early evening. As of February 13, no significant power outages or injuries have been reported.[citation needed]
Virginia
According to Dominion Power, over 64,000 people in Northern Virginia lost power in the storm, primarily in the suburban areas adjacent to Washington, D.C.[3]
Atlantic Canada
While the snowfall amounts diminished somewhat (to about 6 to 12 inches or 15 to 30 cm) by the time the storm tracked east into Atlantic Canada, the winds increased substantially. The worst of the storm was felt along the Atlantic coast, particularly in a swath around the Bay of Fundy, the Northumberland Strait and the south coast of Newfoundland. Hurricane-force wind gusts were reported in several communities, peaking at 156 km/h (97 mph) in Grand Etang, Nova Scotia [9] and 134 km/h (84 mph) in Cape Race on the east coast of Newfoundland[10]. The major cities missed the worst of the storm.
Observed accumulations
Only accumulations of 8 inches (20 cm) or greater are listed. Not all observations are listed due to space limitations; only major communities and notable reports are listed.
| State | City/location | Amount in inches(cm) |
|---|---|---|
| CT | Fairfield | 30.2 (76.7) |
| NJ | Rahway | 27.0 (68.6) |
| CT | West Hartford | 27.0 (68.6) |
| NY | Manhattan (Central Park) | 26.9 (68.3) |
| CT | Danbury | 26.0 (66.0) |
| NY | LaGuardia Airport | 25.4 (64.5) |
| NY | Bronx | 24.5 (62.2) |
| NY | New Rochelle | 24.5 (62.2) |
| NY | Brewster | 24.0 (61.0) |
| CT | Waterbury | 23.0 (58.4) |
| MD | Randallstown | 22.0 (55.9) |
| MA | Wilbraham | 22.0 (55.9) |
| MD | Columbia | 21.3 (54.1) |
| NJ | Newark Airport | 21.3 (54.1) |
| NJ | East Brunswick | 21.0 (53.3) |
| NJ | Hoboken | 20.7 (52.8) |
| NY | Islip | 20.0 (50.8) |
| CT | Norwalk | 20.0 (50.8) |
| NJ | Randolph Township | 20.0 (50.8) |
| NY | Woodbury | 20.0 (50.8) |
| NJ | Ridgewood | 19.0 (48.3) |
| PA | Willow Grove | 18.5 (47.0) |
| MA | Cambridge | 18.2 (46.2) |
| MA | Salem | 18.0 (45.8) |
| PA | Langhorne | 17.5 (44.5) |
| MA | Logan Airport | 17.5 (44.5) |
| NJ | Clinton | 17.4 (44.2) |
| MA | Leominster | 17.4 (44.2) |
| NJ | Trenton | 17.0 (43.2) |
| NJ | Edison | 17.0 (43.2) |
| MA | Needham | 17.0 (43.2) |
| MA | Worcester | 16.9 (42.9) |
| NY | JFK Airport | 16.7 (42.4) |
| NH | Nashua | 16.5 (41.9) |
| NJ | Somerville | 16.5 (41.9) |
| ME | East Machias | 16.0 (40.6) |
| CT | New Haven | 16.0 (40.6) |
| RI | Woonsocket | 15.8 (40.1) |
| VA | Linden | 15.5 (39.4) |
| MA | Boston Common | 15.5 (39.4) |
| CT | Hartford (Downtown) | 15.5 (39.4) |
| MD | Glen Burnie | 15.3 (38.9) |
| PA | Allentown | 15.2 (38.6) |
| MD | Baltimore | 15.0 (38.0) |
| MD | Elkton | 15.0 (38.0) |
| NH | Hollis | 15.0 (38.0) |
| MD | Westminster | 15.0 (38.0) |
| DE | Wilmington | 14.4 (36.6) |
| MD | Gaithersburg | 14.3 (36.3) |
| RI | Cumberland | 14.0 (35.6) |
| MA | Gloucester | 14.0 (35.6) |
| NJ | Lumberton | 14.0 (35.6) |
| CT | Norwich | 14.0 (35.6) |
| NH | Salem | 14.0 (35.6) |
| VA | Falls Church | 13.5 (34.3) |
| MA | Plainville | 13.5 (34.3) |
| MD | BWI Airport | 13.1 (33.3) |
| PA | Easton | 13.0 (33.0) |
| MD | Hagerstown | 13.0 (33.0) |
| VA | Manassas | 13.0 (33.0) |
| CT | Bridgeport | 12.5 (31.8) |
| PA | Philadelphia (Downtown) | 12.5 (31.8) |
| VA | Haymarket | 12.3 (31.2) |
| ME | Kennebunk | 12.0 (30.5) |
| PA | Philadelphia Airport | 12.0 (30.5) |
| PA | Reading | 11.2 (28.4) |
| MA | Springfield | 11.0 (27.9) |
| MD | Frederick | 10.5 (26.7) |
| WV | Harpers Ferry | 10.0 (25.4) |
| VA | Arlington | 10.0 (25.4) |
| WV | Martinsburg | 10.0 (25.4) |
| ME | Southwest Harbor | 9.5 (24.1) |
| RI | Providence (Downtown) | 9.0 (22.9) |
| VA | Winchester | 8.9 (22.6) |
| DC | Washington (Capitol Hill) | 8.8 (22.4) |
| VA | Dulles Airport | 8.1 (20.6) |
Sources: National Weather Service local offices - Sterling, VA, Mount Holly, PA, Upton, NY, Taunton, MA, Caribou, ME, Gray, ME
See also
- Great Blizzard of '88 – The famous blizzard that led to the creation of the New York City Subway.
References
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/02/12/ap2519347.html
- ^ http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4490543
- ^ a b http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0206/302074.html
- ^ http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO14188/
- ^ http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=traffic&id=3899215
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060213/ap_on_re_us/snowstorm
- ^ http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/13856095.htm
- ^ http://www.turnto10.com/news/6973803/detail.html
- ^ http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/warnings/SWS_bulletins_e.html?prov=ns
- ^ http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/trends_table/pages/wra_metric_e.html