
7PM Wednesday Map
The Mid-Atlantic area is pummeled again by a blizzard. For much of that region, the occurrence of two blockbuster snowstorms in a season is unprecedented. Check out these latest amounts.
For instance, here are some interesting stats pertaining to Philadelphia:
503 PM EST SAT FEB 6 2010
...SECOND GREATEST SNOWFALL AT PHILADELPHIA...
THE 28.5 INCHES WHICH FELL AT PHILADELPHIA LATE YESTERDAY AND TODAY
WAS THE SECOND GREATEST SNOWFALL IN RECORDED HISTORY.
$$
THE FIVE GREATEST SNOWFALLS AT PHILADELPHIA:
RANK SNOWFALL DATE
(INCHES)
1 30.7 JANUARY 7/8 1996
2 28.5 FEBRUARY 5/6 2010
3 23.2 DECEMBER 19/20 2009
4 21.3 FEBRUARY 11/12 1983
5 21.0 DECEMBER 25/26 1909
THIS IS ALSO THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY THAT PHILADELPHIA
HAS EXPERIENCED TWO SNOWFALLS IN EXCESS OF 20 INCHES IN THE SAME
WINTER SEASON.
That city has received 56.3 inches making it the second snowiest season on record so far behind the 65.5 inches in 1995-96. Compare that to Boston's 28.9". I explained in my Winter Outlook blog on December 1 that it appeared that the snow zone would shift to the Mid-Atlantic region for much of this winter thanks to a typical El Nino pattern linked with a number of other contributing factors. In this regime, a split flow exists with an active southern jetstream dominated by a blocking northern stream with very infrequent phasing of the streams. This setup is in sharp contrast to that of the past two winters when northern New England received much above average to near record snowfall. It was fantastic for alpine and nordic skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. As expected, it has been a much more disappointing season for the snow enthusiasts up north. Meanwhile, southern New England has been right on the edge of these southern streamers. One storm clobbered southern New England back in December while the northern mountains were left out of the act. Will this be repeated this coming week? Presently, the early signals indicate the potential for a blanket of fresh snow in southern New England. However, it is irresponsible for anyone to be advertising projected specific snowfalls more than 72 hours in advance. It does, however, seem safe to predict a plowable event. This upcoming case will contain characteristics dissimilar to preceding systems. There will be a contribution from the northern stream in the form of a very energetic closed upper air low pressure system. This feature will dive from central Canada into the Midwest and phase with a disturbance and moisture package in the southern stream. This disturbance is currently creating flooding rains and mudslides in California. Consequently, we do have the ingredients for a rather intense storm somewhere in the Northeast. The projected track of the upper air low pressure system favors more of a weathermaker for northern New Jersey, NYC and southern New England. There will be energy transfer to a developing surface coastal storm just off the Delaware coast. However, this will be a very progressive system as it exits the coast with no sign that rapid intensification is going to slow it down. As a result, I am, at this time, not anticipating a repeat of the massive amounts of snow that have just occurred in the Mid-Atlantic. Suffice to say, it bears watching.
In the meantime, the sky will be clearing into the Boston area from the northwest this evening and this trend will slowly advance into southeastern Massachusetts as the night progresses. There will be nothing more than a few snow showers over Cape Cod and perhaps a few spots on Plymouth County this evening where the wind continues the gustiest. Temperatures will bottom out near 20 down there and in the teens most other places with a few locations under 10 degrees where the wind eases much farther north and west of Boston. Tomorrow will be sunniest in the morning with a partly cloudy sky evolving in the afternoon. Most clouds will show up over the northern mountains where spotty snow showers will develop. Expect highs up there in the lower to middle 20s with upper 20s to lower 30s over southern New England. With a ridge of high pressure approaching, a brisk northwesterly wind will blow and this will likely be repeated on Monday as temperatures then reach the lower 30s with a mix of clouds and sunshine. There will be less wind on Tuesday thanks to a closer proximity of the ridge. High cloudiness will appear in the afternoon from the approach of the impending storm. Snow could commence by early Wednesday morning.
For skiers and snowboarders, conditions are generally good thanks to nightly grooming. Primary surfaces are packed powder and loose granular. Remember the slopes are in the best shape in the morning. Scratchy, hardpack and icy areas will inevitably appear by midday especially on steeper terrain in higher traffic zones. Some of the great glades are not open in places due to thin cover. The mountains really need a big snowstorm. That would also help out the snowmobilers because most of the trails do not have the deep snowpack of the past couple winters. Please use caution and cut down speed on the trails and slopes. Be courteous and safe!!!!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and rest up for the SuperBowl on WBZ-TV4!