coastalplainsnowman

25 years ago today it was becoming apparent that a gargantuan snowstorm we were expecting was not working out. Who else remembers TWC/Paul Kocin’s maps which had areas of 3 feet around here? That was the first time TWC had shown anything like that on the East Coast, ever, I think, and I swear it hit the same way a map showing 5 feet here would today. And it’s not like he was hyping. He was discussing those maps almost reluctantly, in that distinctive voice he has. Anyway I remember some very localized areas, including out east on LI, actually ultimately ending up with 15”, but most got much less, and compared to the expectations that were set initially as well as some of us only wanting to hear the biggest numbers, led to this being considered one of the all time disappointments. Others here can definitely provide better recollections and data I’m sure.

Yeah, that was crazy too. That pic was the one other pic I thought could be consistent / supportive of the telegraph one. To your point, the article did state that poles were not as tall as todays, I just wish they had an idea of how tall they actually were. But even if they were 12 feet off the ground that would still be impressive. Who knows, I wonder too was it snow that was atop a previous snowpile or something? But again that pic of the house looked legit, and I'm sure 70 mph winds with prolonged heavy snow over wide open plains I'm sure could yield some tremendous drifts.

That photo is wild. I would love to know how tall those telegraph / telephone poles actually were. Searching the web it's surprising to me how few publicly circulated photographs there are of this storm. And the photos that do exist, at least those without any obvious indicators of timeframe like one you linked to, look like they're from the 30s or 40s rather than just three years before we put a man on the moon.

'bdcf' looks like a swear word, which is fitting. Also, I'd argue that on a lot of those bdcf days, the spine of LI - 495 if you will - is often more similar to unaffected central NJ than it is to the south shore of LI. I remember many times stepping out of work in Mineola/Garden City, to blue skies and 70s, only to head south on the Meadowbrook or Wantagh and see odd darkness/haziness on the horizon. By the time I got to Sunrise Hwy I'd be in misty and damp low 50s.

Don, I may have missed it, but will you please be posting an update to your winter index (the exact term is eluding me) post? Am curious to see where our area lands currently with last week's storm baked in.

I know, tell me about it.

And this guy calls himself a meteorologist.

Nonsense. If that's the case, why is the sun up longer immediately after daylight savings begins? Let me guess, coincidence?

Precisely.

Sure I am. That's one whole additional hour of the sun warming the ground.

Not only that,with the extra hour we get from daylight savings time starting next Sunday it's going to be even harder for snow to stick around.

I bet you never get to say after a snowfall that your grass is covered.

This is great info. It's interesting to see that places 2, 3, and 4 in the list had such paltry snow totals from March 1 onward, and that there are four 60"+ full winter totals further down the list which averaged 22" in that timeframe. It looks like if Smithtown were to pick up an above-average additional 8.7" to get to 60" for the full season, it would land this year at 9th place for the full winter. 13.8" would be required to maintain the current #5 slot.

The 1996 record high of 60 is interesting because depending on one’s location up to another two feet of snow was yet to fall before that winter was done. The 1990 record lows are interesting because that was in that otherwise terribly warm January / February in a winter that turned on a dime for the worst after a frigid December.

Thanks. What a great visualization of how the cold air gets dramatically pulled southward once the storm really gets going Sunday afternoon.