Snowmageddon 2010 Hits East Coast of USA

It’s official, Obama named the storm “Snowmageddon“!

Snowmaggedon, the epic snow storms of 2010, descends up on the east coast of the USA. Snowmaggedon is just a few categories below The Day After Tomorrow as far as snow disasters go.

Snowmaggeddon 2010 – NOAA/NASA

“The North American blizzard of 2010 is a winter storm and severe weather event creating potential for historic snowfall totals in the Middle Atlantic states, possibly eclipsing the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922. The blizzard stretched from Mexico and New Mexico (USA) to New Jersey, killing people in New Mexico, Maryland and Virginia.

The main storm system originated in the Pacific Ocean, passing through California and Arizona on February 1 and 2, delivering heavy rain and mountain snow to these regions. On February 3, the system dropped into northern Mexico, before swinging northeast into southern New Mexico, and then ejecting eastward across Texas. The storm was responsible for producing over a foot of snowfall in the higher elevations and the eastern plains of New Mexico, shutting down major highways including Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque for several hours on February 3. The center of circulation then tracked across central Texas to the Gulf Coast, while producing rain and snow for Oklahoma and northern Texas, and severe thunderstorms further south. Meanwhile another low pressure center tracked from the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest, bringing light snow showers to Montana, the Dakotas, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois.

On February 5, the two systems began interacting, stretching a band of heavy snow from Illinois eastward through Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. By evening, the northern system dissipated and the southern system began intensifying as it moved northeast from Alabama to the vicinity of Cape Hatteras. During the evening heavy snow spread eastward into Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, and the Washington, DC area.

Overnight, as the storm system moved northeast toward Cape Hatteras, a blocking pattern over the North Atlantic prevented the storm from continuing this motion, and forced it to turn east. As a result, the northern edge of the heaviest snow reached the southern suburbs of New York City, with light snow falling in the parts of the city itself. Upstate New York and New England were spared from this system, receiving little more than isolated snow flurries in southern sections. Easterly winds and onshore flow contributed to light snow accumulations of less than one inch in Boston, Cape Cod, and parts of coastal Rhode Island.

According to the blog of Weather Channel senior meteorologist Stu Ostro, the storm’s formation shows some similarities to the North American blizzard of 2009, though it also has specific differences. Although the air feeding into the cyclone from the north isn’t particularly cold by midwinter standards according to Ostro, it is cold enough for snow. The storm is carrying an enormous amount of moisture drawn from the tropical Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico as seen on February 3 satellite imagery over Mexico, as well as from the Atlantic as seen in radar imagery from early on February 5. Ostro characterizes the storm as having “strong dynamics” and expects the snowfall to be of long duration, typically leading to large accumulations.
” – [1]

A flurry of weather outside the recent range of climate makes this weather climate. After all weather is real and climate is abstract statistical math at best and sly statistical manNipulations at worst. I gather Snowmaggeddon is one decline they can’t hide. [:)]

I’m sure glad I missed this one. A few years back I enjoyed a mild DC winter.

President Obama ditched his souped-up Cadillac limousine fondly known as “the Beast” this weekend for a vehicle capable of plowing through 20-plus inches of snow. Obama is traveling in an armored Chevy Suburban four-wheel-drive SUV to ensure he keeps to his schedule, despite the harrowing weather conditions.

The blizzard Obama called “snowmageddon” didn’t stop his presidential motorcade from navigating the snow-covered streets of Washington Saturday, but it did cause a few hairy moments. Before the 15-vehicle motorcade even pulled out of the White House driveway, one of the emergency support vehicles in the caravan lost traction and slid into another vehicle.” – CNN

#SNOWMAGEDDON hits Baltimore, Maryland! 12:30 AM Update as the blizzard lays a heavy blanket of snow across the Chesapeake Bay region. ATV riders play in the snow, snowplow struggles to clear the road, visibility is poor, driving is nearly impossible. Video documentation of the snowfall by Kae Davis (the Exotic Car Examiner) for @cafecars and @baltimorecharm — snow storm is expected to break records for most snow recorded in one storm in the Mid-Atlantic region. Climate change? Global warming? More like the DAY AFTER TOMORROW movie. Get your shovels, ready — ladies and gentlemen. #snOMG

Having lived in Edmonton during the 1970’s when tons of snow fell and the weather aka climate was regularly below 30c and 40c I’d have to say that DCer’s are wimps even with snowmageddon since Edmonton saw many of these each winter then and even recently. [:)]

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[1] – Wikipedia