2010: A Look Back At The Wild Year In Weather

11:11am 2010 turned out to be a year of weather extremes for the entire world, not only was it the warmest meteorological year on record world wide, the end of the year was also the coldest and snowiest November and December ever on record for Europe. The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane season was the 3rd most active Hurricane Season on record with 19 named tropical systems developing in the Atlantic basin. And do you recall the majors headlines of this year? The magnitude 8.8 Earthquake that struck Chile in February was the strongest quake ever recorded on Earth. The magnitude 7.2 Earthquake that struck Haiti in January brought upheaval to its people and focused world attention on the devastation. The extreme monsoon flooding in Pakistan during the summer was the worst modern natural disaster, directly affecting 200 million people. The eruption of the Iceland Volcano Eyjafjallajokull in April was responsible for the worst civil aviation breakdown since World War 2. And even here with in the continental United States, we've had our fair share of extremes. The big daddy of environmental disaster, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico spewed 205.8 million gallons of crude oil in to the ocean non stop from April to September shutting down the economy of the Gulf of Mexico States. The "Snowmagedon" that unleashed storm after storm over the Northeast in early 2010 buried cities under an unprecedented amount of snow from Virginia to Long Island with snowfall totals for the season exceeding 80 inches in Philadelphia and Baltimore, surpassing the snowfall amounts in Buffalo for that season. The summer of 2010 will be remembered for the series of deadly heat waves that affected the entire world; All-time record highs were set in over a dozen countries in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Record warmth ravished the continental United States with many cities surpassing their longest streak of 90 degrees or better by a significant margin. In Russia, this was the worst heatwave in 1000 years with many cities reaching 100 degrees for the first time since records have been kept. In Moscow the heat produced a thick chocking smog due to the combination of the heat and air pollution, doubling the mortality rate. Last but certainly not least was the Christmas weekend Blizzard that affected over 80 million people in the eastern United States and virtually paralyzed the city of New York for days after the storm.

Christmas Weekend Nor'Easter Recap

The New York City Metropolitan Area received between 20 inches and 40 inches of snow in less than 24 hours in a Nor'Easter that paralyzed the Big Apple. All area airports were shutdown for over 12 hours, airlines canceled over 5,000 flights leaving thousands of passengers stranded for days. The storm forced Amtrak to cancel all service between NYC and Boston and caused massive delays in the New York City subway system, Some people were stuck in subway trains for up to 11 hours. Emergency response crews could not get to 911 calls due to the city's poor management during the blizzard, streets remained unplowed for up to 3 days after the storm. This Nor'Easter is one for the records; winds were gusting to near 80 miles per hour in many coastal areas during the height of the storm; numerous reports of thunder and lightning were widely scattered throughout the area. A minimum central pressure of 965 millibars was recorded at the center of circulation, this is equivalent to a category 2 Hurricane. This storm came in at #6 in New York City's long list of major snow storms since records began.

Storm Total Snowfall Forecast Through Monday Afternoon

Weather synopsis: Saturday December 25

Merry Christmas!
12:50pm the National Weather Service has issued a slew of winter storm watches and warnings up and down the Atlantic coast in anticipation of a Nor'easter that is expected to impact the region with strong winds and significant snowfall. The combination of heavy snow along with strong gusty winds will produce blizzard conditions for many areas including Long Island and eastern New England; I expect blizzard conditions to impact New York City and coastal New Jersey as well. A low pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico states will move east towards the Atlantic coast this evening. This low pressure system will strengthen off the coast of the Carolinas and then stream northward parallel to the east coast. With cold air already in place, the moisture associated with this storm system will produce a swath of heavy snow from the Carolinas to Maine. I expect this storm system to further intensify on its track up the coast; this will whip-up the winds right along the coast producing white out conditions and a bonafied blizzard for many. Snow will develop in New York City and Long Island from around noon time through early afternoon on Sunday. The snow will get steady and heavy during the late evening with the heaviest precipitation arriving during the overnight and lasting through the early morning hours on Monday. It is during this time frame when I expect the blizzard to be in full force for the New York City metropolitan area as winds will gust up and over 50 miles per hour. Snowfall totals will range between 8 inches to 1 foot from the Jersey shore to Long Island with many locations receiving well over 1 foot of snow. Snow will continue to fly through Monday morning before ending from southwest to the northeast as this storm system moves away from the region on Monday afternoon and evening. This Nor'easter will have a major impact on travel plans especially for area Airports as visibilities will go down to 1/4 mile or less for a good period of time. Many airlines have already canceled flight in anticipation of the snow that could pose a threat of icing. Road conditions will deteriorate rather quickly once the heavy snow and strong winds begin to impact the region on Sunday evening.

Weather synopsis: Thursday December 23

10:43pm a cold air mass continues to have a firm grip over the Northeast. Areas of light snow have been impacting coastal regions of the Northeast, these snow flurries are associated with the outer bands of a broad area of low pressure off the coast of New England. No snow accumulation is expected with this system however, I have been monitoring the potential for a significant snowfall to impact the coast this weekend into early next week. A storm system that has been inundating the Southwestern states will make its way across the country through the course of this week. This system will produce a swath of accumulating snow for the Midwest, severe thunder storms for the South and icy conditions for places in between. This mess of precipitation will work its way eastward by Christmas Day producing snow as far south as Atlanta; then a secondary area of low pressure will redevelop off the Southeast coast and depending on the track of this storm system we could have a messy situation in the Northeast on Sunday and Monday. This is a preliminary forecast that is subject to change based on new computer model data: A light snowfall will break out over New York City and Long Island during the afternoon hours on Sunday. The snow will get steadier overnight with the heaviest snow expected early Monday morning before tapering off Monday afternoon and evening. Snowfall totals will increase from west to east with the greatest amounts over Long Island and eastern New England. Generally between 6 inches to as much as 12 inches is certainly possible from this system, however, if the track of this storm veers just 50 miles to the east or west it could mean the difference between no snow to well over 1 foot of snow over the targeted areas. This potential Nor'easter is still days away and I reiterate, this is a preliminary forecast that is subject to change as the time frame approaches.

Weather synopsis: Sunday December 19

6:20pm the interstate 95 corridor along the Northeast has dodged a bullet as a potential Nor'easter has veered coarse taking a path further out in to the Atlantic Ocean than what computer models had anticipated earlier this week. This track will spare the big cities from a significant snow accumulation this time around. Several rounds of snow are possible this week for the entire Northeast as a series of clipper systems make their way from central regions of Canada down to the eastern United States with the potential for a big snow storm on Christmas Day. This weather pattern will continue to enforce the cold that is in place keeping our High temperatures in the 20s and 30s through the week. This week a rare astronomical event will stake place, not only will the winter solstice take place on Tuesday December 21 but, on that same day there will be a Lunar eclipse at approximately 3:15am. According to NASA, the last time that a Lunar eclipse occurred during a winter solstice was in the year 1638 over 370 years ago. Cloudy skies and Lake Effects Snow will likely obscure the eclipse along the Great Lakes. Better chances of observing the eclipse will be away from the lakes and generally south of New England.

Weather synopsis: Wednesday December 15

Weather synopsis: Monday December 13

8:18pm bitterly cold air temperatures along with strong and gusty winds are making it feel like an ice box across the Northeast. A storm system that impacted the region with milder temperatures and heavy rain this weekend has pulled away; in the wake of this storm system the coldest air mass since last January has infiltrated the Northeast, enough instability will be present to produce some light snow along the coast through early afternoon on Tuesday. Temperatures are running between 15 and 20 degrees below normal for this time of the year. The cold and wind over the relatively warmer waters of the Great Lakes are producing Lake Effect Snow over western New York State, western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. Winter weather watches and warnings for Lake Effect Snow are in effect for most locations down wind of the lakes. A Lake Effect Snow warning is in effect for Buffalo until 6am Wednesday morning, between 10 and 16 inches of snow is expected with higher amounts south of Buffalo as well as regions down wind of Lake Ontario from Rochester to Syracuse where up to 3 feet of snow is possible. Lake Effect Snow will continue through Wednesday producing localized blizzard conditions along the New York State Thruway from Buffalo to Syracuse. The Lake Effect Snow should come to an end by Thursday and a period of tranquil weather will prevail through the upcoming weekend. Computer models are indicating that on Sunday December 19th a low pressure system could develop a long the Northeast coast. Depending on the cyclone genesis of this potential system, we could be dealing with a Nor'easter for the big cities of the Northeast from Washington to New York and Boston.

Weather synopsis: Sunday December 5

11:59pm a bitterly cold arctic air mass continues to spew in from central Canada. High temperatures will run 10 to 15 degrees below normal across the Northeast. This week, day time high temperatures will remain in the 30s along the coast with 20s for the interior. To add insult to injury, winds will make it feel much colder. Wind gust of up to 45 miles per hour will make it feel 10 to 20 degrees colder over New York City and Long Island. A persistent stream of cold air over the Great Lakes will produce several days of Lake Effect Snow. A slew of Lake Effect Snow alerts are in effect down wind of the lakes. The potential exist for a solid 1 to 2 feet of snow along the south shores of Lake Ontario from northern Niagara County eastward through Rochester and Syracuse. Buffalo should receive and additional 5 to 10 inches of snow by Tuesday morning with locally higher amounts, while south of the Greater Buffalo metropolitan area, Chautauqua County and Cattaraugus County between 2 to 3 feet of snow is likely. Lake Effect Snow can be expected through Tuesday before tapering off to scattered flurries Tuesday night; however, more Lake Effect Snow is on the horizon beyond Tuesday. Another round of impressive Lake Effect Snow will arrive late this week. As this cold air mass settles in and we progress through the deep freeze of winter, the jet stream will be oriented in a manner that is favorable for a "blockbuster type snow storm" for the entire Northeast - computer models are indicating that in the days and weeks to come it is very well possible to have 1 or 2 storm systems develop which could bring big snows along the coast from New England to the Midatlantic. Its beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas, by December 25th it is likely we could have a white Christmas for nearly 50% of the entire continental United States.

December 1st - 2nd Lake Effect Snow Recap