The Blizzard of 2006 was a two-day storm that buried New York City and much of the northeast under up to two feet or more of snow. Although technically not a blizzard (with sustained winds of between 20-30 miles an hour in most areas) except in parts of Long Island and elsewhere, this snowstorm buried New York City under a record 26.9 of snow, breaking the previous mark that had been set during the December 26-27, 1947 blizzard that had dumped 26.4 of snow. With its staggering totals, the Blizzard of 2006 confounded earlier forecasts that had called for between 5-10 inches of snow across the region. Per The New York Times, when describing the storm, it was a great Crab nebula 1,200 miles long and 500 miles wide on satellite images and a ghostly apparition on the ground [that] crawled up the Eastern Seaboard with winds that gusted up to 60 miles an hour, and cloaked the cities to countrysides from North Carolina to coastal Maine with 12 to more than 27 inches of snow, which broke or challenged records in many locales.[1] Up through February 10, 2006, the 2005-06 winter had been unusually mild, recording the third warmest January on record. In addition, snowfall had been lacking with a total accumulation to date of 11.7 inches after a promising 10 inch start in December 2005. Yet by February 8, meteorologists began to mention snow in their forecasts. Initially they called for the possibility of some snow if a developing noreaster moved close enough to the coast. Two days later, with the NAM model moving into consensus with the American-GSR and European models, both of which called for a significant accumulation, the National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch for the New York metropolitan region, among other areas. Forecasters upped the ante, calling for up to 6-12 inches. Although a blizzard warning was posted on Saturday, February 11, 2006, forecasters refused to budge from the previous days projected amounts. The only exception was Accuweather meteorologist Joe Bastardi. He hinted in a discussion that the storm had the potential to dump between 20-24 inches across the New York metropolitan area if optimal conditions developed, permitting rapid intensification. Despite the blizzard warning, the February 11th day started out partly cloudy. There were even moments of sunshine and blue sky. However, as the day progressed, the sky turned gray as the noreasters leading bands of clouds slid into the area. Furthermore, as the New York metro area's sky became leaden, the storm began to show signs of slowing as it redeveloped off the Carolina coast, hinting that Bastardis higher amounts might be more likely. A light snow overspread the area at about 7:00 PM. Yet up to midnight, accumulations were barely over 2 inches because of the storms wet nature and light intensity. However, by 2:00 AM, February 12, 2006, things began to rapidly change. The temperature fell (ranging from 23-28 Fahrenheit in New York City), the flakes became light and fluffy, and the storm intensified and slowed to almost a crawl. By the pre-dawn hours blizzard-like and at times, whiteout conditions existed with fierce winds. Starting at about 5:00-6:00 AM bright lightening followed by loud crashes of thunder unleashed blinding torrents of flakes. The thunder persisted for hours, quickly raising the storms totals (about 7 inches had fallen in Central Park by at 7:00 AM, 10 inches by 8 AM and 22 inches by 10 AM). During the height of the storm that consisted of high winds and accumulations of between 3-5 inches per hour, all three of the major New York metropolitan area airports were shutdown along with Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., stranding thousands. Another hundred were stranded for hours on a stuck Long Island Railroad (L.I.R.R.) train after the electrified rail became buried in snow. In addition, the L.I.R.R. suspended train service while the New Jersey Port Authority halted bus service. Driving was treacherous vehicles without warning became stuck in snowdrifts, others came treacherously close to running off buried roads and still others were involved in accidents. When the local airports opened late Sunday evening, a Turkish Airways plane skidded upon landing at La Guardia airport causing more delays. As the storm raged, plows worked non-stop in an attempt to keep main roads clear (in New York City 2,500 Department of Sanitation employees worked 12-hour shifts and scores of volunteers were hired at $10 per hour to assist with snow removal operations). Then just when it appeared that the storm would fall just short of the 1947 record, with nearly 25 inches on the ground at about 1:00 PM, a final band of snow materialized out of nowhere, dumping the final 2 inches necessary. By 4:00 PM it was official, the Blizzard of 2006 was New York Citys worst storm since record keeping began in Central Park in 1869. The National Weather Service reported the 26.9-inch accumulation, which eclipsed the old mark as well as the legendary Blizzards of 1888 and 1996 that had buried New York City under 21.0 and 20.2 inches, respectively. Yet by midday Sunday, when the snow had been tapering off, pedestrians took advantage of the scenic beauty venturing into the streets to take photographs while children enjoyed sledding and skiing. Within 24-48 hours, a rapid melt-down began with temperatures soaring into the 50s enabling life to return to normal. Amazingly, unlike the previous New York City record holder storm, which had killed 77 people, the Blizzard of 2006 left no fatalities in the tri-state area. Tri-State Storm Totals Connecticut: Fairfield County: West Redding 28.0 Inches Easton 27. 0 Inches Danbury 26.0 Inches Ridgefield 25.0 Inches North Stamford 24.5 Inches Darien 22.5 Inches Shelton 22.5 Inches Norwalk 22.0 Inches New Canaan 21.7 Inches Bethel 21.0 Inches Fairfield 18.0 Inches Brookfield 17.0 Inches Sherman 16.0 Inches Stratford 13.0 Inches Bridgeport 12.5 Inches Monroe 12.0 Inches Middlesex County: Durham 17.0 Inches Clinton 12.5 Inches Haddam 11.3 Inches Old Saybrook 11.3 Inches Middlesex County: Southbury 25.0 Inches Wolcott 25.0 Inches Waterbury 23.0 Inches Meriden 21.0 Inches Seymour 21.0 Inches Beacon Falls 20.0 Inches Cheshire 18.0 Inches East Meriden 17.0 Inches New Haven 16.0 Inches North Madison 15.0 Inches West Haven 14.0 Inches North Haven 13.0 Inches Wallingford 12.5 Inches Guilford 12.0 Inches Madison 12.0 Inches Milford 11.3 Inches Orange 11.0 Inches New London County: Norwich 14.0 Inches Oakdale 14.0 Inches Voluntown 14.0 Inches Colchester 13.8 Inches Sprague 12.0 Inches East Lyme 11.0 Inches Lisbon 10.5 Inches Groton 10.3 Inches New Jersey: Bergen County: Ridgewood 19.0 Inches Rutherford 19.0 Inches Teaneck 19.0 Inches Cliffside Park 18.0 Inches Rivervale 18.0 Inches Tenafly 18.0 Inches North Arlington 17.5 Inches Bergenfield 16.6 Inches Montvale 16.5 Inches Essex County: Montclair 21.8 Inches West Orange 21.0 Inches Newark 20.7 Inches South Orange 18.0 Inches West Caldwell 17.6 Inches Belleville 17.4 Inches Cedar Grove 17.1 Inches Hudson County: Hoboken 20.7 Inches Jersey City 20.0 Inches Harrison 17.5 Inches Passaic County: West Paterson 20.0 Inches Hawthorne 15.5 Inches Union County: Rahway 27 Inches Roselle 24.6 Inches Cranford 20.6 Inches Garwood 18.0 Inches Hillside 17.0 Inches Union 16.0 Inches New York: Bronx County: Bronx 24.5 Inches Westchester 23.9 Inches Parkchester 20.4 Inches Woodlawn 17.0 Inches Kings County: Brooklyn Marine Park 19.5 Inches Flatlands 19.0 Inches Midwood 18.7 Inches Sunset Park 18.5 Inches Sheepshead Bay 18.0 Inches Broadway Junction 17.0 Inches Nassau County: Great Neck 23.6 Inches Carle Place 20.0 Inches Woodbury 20.0 Inches Muttontown 18.6 Inches Bellmore 17.8 Inches Farmingdale 17.5 Inches Syosset 16.0 Inches East Meadow 15.2 Inches Massapequa Park 14.0 Inches New Hyde Park 14.0 Inches Hicksville 13.7 Inches Oceanside 13.1 Inches Plainview 13.0 Inches Lynbrook 11.0 Inches New York County: Columbia University 27 Inches Central Park 26.9 Inches Chinatown 24.7 Inches Orange County: Cornwall 10.0 Inches Putnam County: Brewster 24.0 Inches Lake Carmel 22.5 Inches Carmel 19.0 Inches Putnam Lake 18.0 Inches Queens County: Astoria 26.0 Inches La Guardia Airport 25.4 Inches Flushing 19.9 Inches Richmond Hill 19.5 Inches Far Rockaway 17.5 Inches JFK Airport 16.7 Inches Richmond County: Clove Lakes Park 22.0 Inches Castleton Corners 20.0 Inches Eltingville 16.6 Inches Travis 15.0 Inches Rockland County: New City 20.1 Inches Valley Cottage 16.0 Inches Stony Point 12.0 Inches Sparkill 10.2 Inches Suffolk County: Islip 20.0 Inches Medford 19.1 Inches Wading River 17.9 Inches Bellport 17.0 Inches Orient 17.0 Inches East Northport 15.2 Inches Commack 15.0 Inches Port Jefferson 15.0 Inches Miller Place 14.8 Inches Center Moriches 14.3 Inches Lake Ronkonkoma 14.0 Inches North Patchogue 14.0 Inches Upton 13.9 Inches Baiting Hollow 13.7 Inches Lindenhurst 13.5 Inches Centerport 13.4 Inches Smithtown 13.3 Inches Hauppauge 13.2 Inches North Babylon 12.3 Inches Shirley 11.7 Inches Dix Hills 10.7 Inches Commack 10.0 Inches Westchester County: New Rochelle 24.5 Inches Pound Ridge 24.0 Inches Yonkers 23.9 Inches Eastchester 23.2 Inches Katonah 22.0 Inches White Plains 21.5 Inches Yorktown Heights 21.0 Inches Hastings-On-Hudson 20.0 Inches Rye Brook 20.0 Inches Bronxville 19.8 Inches Mount Kisco 19.5 Inches North Salem 19.0 Inches Armonk 18.5 Inches Croton-On-Hudson 16.0 Inches _________________________________________________________________ [1] A Record Snow: 26.9 Inches Fall In New York City Old Mark of 1947 Broken The New York Times. February 13, 2006. p.1. _________________________________________________________________ Sources: Newsday. February 13, 2006. The Journal News. February 13, 2006. New York Area snowfall reports. The National Weather Service. February 13, 2006. The New York Daily News. February 13, 2006. The New York Post. February 13, 2006. The New York Times. February 11, 2006. The New York Times. February 12, 2006. The New York Times. February 13, 2006. |
