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My first post of maybe several in coming days if people enjoy it. These are about true rarity in these parts that used to be a whole lot less rare. April Blizzards This is a deep dive into the "April Surprise" of 1894, a legendary late-season monster that paralyzed Pennsylvania just as the state was beginning to bloom. [emoji2518] 1894: A World, Nation, and State in Flux In April 1894, the world was a study in contrasts. Globally, the Panic of 1893 was still casting a long economic shadow, leading to significant labor unrest. In the United States, "Coxey’s Army"—the first significant popular protest march on Washington, D.C.—was tramping through the mud of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, demanding jobs just as this blizzard struck. Locally, Pennsylvania was the industrial heart of the nation; the steel mills of Pittsburgh were roaring, and the coal mines of the Anthracite region were fueling the Gilded Age. Culturally, the 24th President, Grover Cleveland, was in office, and the first ever Stanley Cup championship had just been played weeks prior. Little did Pennsylvanians know that a "Second Winter" was about to descend with historic fury. [emoji3587] The Winter 1893-94 Lead-Up: February’s Peak The winter of 1893–94 wasn't a consistent "ice box" year; rather, it was a season of extreme pulses. The early winter was relatively quiet, but February 1894 became the soul of the season. February saw a staggering 1,401.8" of station-summed snowfall across the state network—nearly triple the amount seen in January. The coldest day occurred on February 25, when the statewide average minimum temperature plummeted to -1.3°F. However, as March arrived, the "spring flip" was aggressive. Temperatures surged into the mid-50s, the snow pack vanished, and by early April, fruit trees were budding and farmers were eyeing their fields. The atmosphere was primed for a clash of seasons. [emoji408] Monthly Statistical Summary (Pre-Blizzard) | Month | Stations Reporting | Snow Sum | Mean Tmax | Mean Tmin | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1893-11 | 53 | 48.0" | 47.8°F | 32.6°F | | 1893-12 | 56 | 255.7" | 40.7°F | 24.6°F | | 1894-01 | 82 | 472.9" | 40.7°F | 25.4°F | | 1894-02 | 82 | 1401.8" | 36.7°F | 18.8°F | | 1894-03 | 82 | 97.1" | 54.0°F | 32.6°F | | 1894-04 (1–9) | 83 | 100.6" | 49.4°F | 32.0°F | [emoji302] The "April Bomb": April 10–12, 1894 The blizzard was not a classic "Arctic Blast" but rather a dynamically forced powerhouse. On April 10, a deepening low-pressure system began drawing massive amounts of moisture from the Atlantic, crashing it into a marginal but stubborn cold air mass draped over the interior of Pennsylvania. While Philadelphia saw mostly a cold, driving rain (only 0.5" snow) and Pittsburgh remained on the "warm" side with 0.0", the Central Ridge-Valley and Susquehanna Valley became the "Jackpot Zone." On April 11, the storm reached its peak, with 54 stations reporting snow and a statewide station-sum of 411.4" in a single 24-hour window. [emoji2783] The 9-Day Timeline (The Setup, The Event, The Melt) | Date | Mean Tmax | Mean Tmin | Stations w/ Snow | Max Single-Station Snow | |---|---|---|---|---| | Apr 7 (Pre) | 41.8°F | 29.7°F | 23 | 6.5" | | Apr 10 (Start) | 41.9°F | 31.1°F | 38 | 10.0" | | Apr 11 (Peak) | 36.7°F | 30.0°F | 54 | 28.0" | | Apr 12 (End) | 43.6°F | 31.6°F | 18 | 4.0" | | Apr 15 (Melt) | 63.0°F | 32.5°F | 0 | 0.0" | [emoji625] Geographic Winners and Losers The 1894 blizzard was a masterclass in "mesoscale banding." While the big cities on either end of the state (Philly and Pittsburgh) saw very little, the interior was buried. Selinsgrove recorded a mind-boggling 28.0" on April 11 alone. State College was a consistent winner throughout the event, recording 18" over two days. This storm was a "wet" snow, meaning the weight on the newly budding trees and telegraph lines was catastrophic, causing widespread communication blackouts across the Susquehanna Valley. [emoji471] Top Station Totals (April 11 Peak) * Selinsgrove 2 S: 28.0" * Le Roy: 22.0" * Lewisburg: 20.0" * Coatesville: 18.5" * Lebanon: 17.5" * Harrisburg: 13.0" [emoji2410] The Aftermath: The Great Disappearing Act As quickly as the winter monster arrived, it vanished. By April 13, the sun came out and temperatures began to climb. By April 15, the statewide average maximum temperature hit 63°F, sending the massive snowpack into a rapid melt. This led to localized flooding as the heavy, wet "April White" turned into "April Water." For those living through it, the 1894 blizzard was a reminder that in Pennsylvania, winter is never truly dead until May. [emoji2793] Visualizations I am generating a snowfall map of the hardest-hit locations and a commemorative "Weather Lore" infographic for the board. Here is the detailed write-up for your weather message board, formatted for easy copy-and-paste. [emoji2518] 1894: A World, Nation, and State in Flux The spring of 1894 arrived at a pivotal moment in history. Globally, the Panic of 1893 was still casting a long economic shadow, fueling labor unrest and leading to the historic march of "Coxey’s Army" toward Washington, D.C. In Pennsylvania, the Gilded Age was in full swing; steel mills and coal mines were the engines of the nation, and Grover Cleveland sat in the White House. While the state was looking forward to the regrowth of spring, a "Second Winter" was quietly gathering strength in the atmosphere. [emoji3587] The Winter 1893–94 Lead-Up: February’s Peak The 1893–94 season was one of extremes rather than consistency. After a quiet start, February 1894 became the heart of the winter, delivering a staggering 1,401.8" of station-summed snowfall across Pennsylvania—nearly triple the volume of January. The season’s arctic peak occurred on February 25, with a statewide average low of -1.3°F. However, March brought a violent "spring flip," with average highs surging into the mid-50s and the snowpack rapidly vanishing. By early April, fruit trees were budding, setting the stage for a catastrophic clash of air masses. [emoji408] Monthly Statistical Summary (Pre-Blizzard) | Month | Stations | Snow Sum | Mean Tmax | Mean Tmin ||-------------------|----------|----------|-----------|-----------|| 1893-11 | 53 | 48.0" | 47.8°F | 32.6°F || 1893-12 | 56 | 255.7" | 40.7°F | 24.6°F || 1894-01 | 82 | 472.9" | 40.7°F | 25.4°F || 1894-02 | 82 | 1401.8" | 36.7°F | 18.8°F || 1894-03 | 82 | 97.1" | 54.0°F | 32.6°F || 1894-04 (1–9) | 83 | 100.6" | 49.4°F | 32.0°F | [emoji302] The "April Bomb": April 10–12, 1894 The blizzard was a dynamically forced powerhouse rather than a classic arctic blast. On April 10, a deepening low-pressure system tapped into Atlantic moisture and collided with a stubborn cold air mass over the interior. While Philadelphia saw mostly cold rain and Pittsburgh stayed on the warm side of the track, the Central Ridge-Valley and Susquehanna Valley were decimated. On April 11, the storm peaked with 54 stations reporting snow and a single-day station-sum of 411.4". Because this was a heavy, wet "heart attack" snow, it caused massive damage to budding trees and telegraph lines. [emoji2783] The 9-Day Timeline (Setup, Event, and Melt) | Date | Mean Tmax | Mean Tmin | Stations w/ Snow | Max Single Snow ||---------------|-----------|-----------|------------------|-----------------|| Apr 7 (Pre) | 41.8°F | 29.7°F | 23 | 6.5" || Apr 10 (Start)| 41.9°F | 31.1°F | 38 | 10.0" || Apr 11 (Peak) | 36.7°F | 30.0°F | 54 | 28.0" || Apr 12 (End) | 43.6°F | 31.6°F | 18 | 4.0" || Apr 15 (Melt) | 63.0°F | 32.5°F | 0 | 0.0" | [emoji625] Geographic Winners and Losers The 1894 event was defined by mesoscale banding. Selinsgrove recorded a legendary 28.0" on April 11 alone, while State College and Harrisburg both saw heavy interior accumulation. Conversely, the "big anchors" on the state's edges missed out on the true blizzard conditions. Top Daily Snowfall (April 11): * Selinsgrove 2 S: 28.0" * Le Roy: 22.0" * Lewisburg: 20.0" * Coatesville: 18.5" * Harrisburg: 13.0" * State College: 13.0" [emoji2410] The Aftermath: The Great Disappearing Act As quickly as the winter monster arrived, it vanished. By April 13, the sun emerged, and by April 15, the statewide average high hit 63°F. The massive, moisture-laden snowpack melted rapidly, leading to localized flooding and turning the "April White" into "April Water" in a matter of hours. For Pennsylvanians of the 1890s, it was a stark reminder that winter is never truly dead until May. [emoji2793] Visualization: The Jackpot Map The map below highlights the "Interior Jackpot" where the storm core centered, showing the stark contrast between the buried central valleys and the relatively dry urban anchors. [emoji439] 1894 BLIZZARD INFOGRAPHIC > THE APRIL BOMB AT A GLANCE > * The Peak Day: April 11, 1894 > * Biggest Winner: Selinsgrove (28 inches in 24 hours) > * The "Flip": 36°F (Blizzard) [emoji3591] 63°F (Spring Melt) in 4 days. > * The Damage: Thousands of budding fruit trees destroyed; telegraph lines snapped across the Susquehanna. > Would you like me to generate a similar breakdown for the 1888 Children's Blizzard or perhaps a specific regional comparison for this 1894 event? Sent from my SM-S731U using Tapatalk

Do you really believe that?

..........wrong thread................

A useless turd who should be banned from our subforum. We get enough annoyance from some of the regulars without that stupid shit lol

This is a piece of cake....................... South of 66 1-3 on Monday ...... South of 64 2-4 on Monday

Insane melting going on

Initial wave is weak sauce with the cold high in place(we get a coating verbatim), then stronger shortwave energy follows close behind as the HP is moving off the coast. We get some light mixed crap on the southern edge while it snows in NE. Some tweaks in timing aloft could yield a better outcome. We just cant know..

Looks pretty juicy at 18z ICON also a little more amped (literally felt ill writing that)

Piles on my street...

Glad you had a god time. I was in New Brunswick riding last week and had a great time. Until Friday morning when I went out to start packing the truck and found no trailer. The trailer and sleds were stolen overnight. The recovered the trailer later that day and have since recovered one of the sleds. Luckily the sleds were fully insured but its a bit of a pain in the ass.

.02"

NAM was the first to find the 1/17 storm…

Most of the March maps, especially early to mid, have been on the warm side for much of the E US for a good number of runs. But now these are even warmer and extend into the first half of April. They totally argue against JB’s cold late Mar/early Apr lol.

We lived in Gardiner in 1995 and the afternoon high was 16 with winds gusting to near 50, but it was 31 at my 9 PM obs time the evening before, probably the 2d worst "midnight spoil" max I can recall. Worst was March 6, 2007, when the afternoon high of -2 was wrecked by the 19 at 9 the previous evening. March 2017 had one that ranks with 4/95, 14° at 9 PM on 3/10 followed by a zero for afternoon high. Co-ops with 7 AM obs time have preserved those cold afternoons. (1st CT Lake had a high of -24 on Dec 26, 1980 thanks to the 7 AM protocol. Mt Mansfield has tied that mark and MWN has numerous colder ones, but nothing in New England below 3000' asl can match it.)

Best question of all. If you were home in Cumberland where are your 6 hourly measurements? Piles we got piles on piles.

BGM’s take, since they have been updating CTP’s AFD since yesterday morning.

In this shot you can see the Lake of the Clouds hut in the saddle right of MWN:

Wow, that’s impressive. The only list I made in college was the absentee list…

Mystic FTW?

Do you have video from when you drove 6 hrs to Maine to question a qualified trained COOP observers 76 inch depth but got lost?

Even the Sierra just had a rainstorm with low 40s. The entire mountain is a slushbomb. Highs next few days low 50s lows in the 40s damn even the high Sierras are in full Spring. In late Feb. Rivers are roaring.

About 2 hours of snow here. Covered mulch and roads up higher were starting to cave. It has passed now.

Farther north, we've had only 10 days in 27 Aprils with maxima 32 or colder, only 3 below 30 and the 24 during a modest snowfall on 5/2003 is lowest by 5°. 200 miles NNE in Fort Kent, such maxima are much more common, 3.1/yr vs. 0.37/yr. Of course, the 1970s-80s were also colder than 1999 onward. We recorded 31 such days in our 10 Aprils there, 30 of which were 23 to 32, plus the 17 max for the 4/7/82 blizzard.

Lol give it up

WSW