gymengineer

Area is one measure. Population impacted is another. There's mixed data for the two, but again, based on what everyone is describing in this thread, it all comes down to what the storms did in each person's backyard. Here's NCDC's population data (compiled for the RSI) that I posted in another thread, normalized to the 2010 census data: For population affected by >=20": 1) 1/96: 28,928,278 2) 1/16: 21,000,936 3) 2/03: 19,242,275 4) 12/47: 13,501,073 5) 2/13: 10,662,789 For population affected by >=30": 1) 2/69 (late February New England storm): 2,009,520 2) 11/50: 1,207,570 3) 2/78: 1,169,430 4) 1/16: 1,121,182 5) 3/93: 729,753 6) late 2/10 (the NY storm): 677,436 7) 1/66 (including lake effect): 611,484 8) looks off with a huge spread in dates (2/25/1900- 3/2/1900): 526,154 9) 1/96: 493,778 So from the NCDC data, 1/96 and 1/16 were the most widespread 20"+ population impacts for northeastern snowstorms. And 1/16 more than doubled 1/96's population affected by 30". Of course, the NYC area covered a lot of the population, but both 1/96 and 1/16 were 20"+ storms for the NYC area.

I'm just curious about how you decided on these rankings, because I also am able to rank all of these storms in a western suburb of DC. Was 2/5-6/10 and 1/96 being ranked higher than 1/16 partly because of what happened after the storm's end? I've said elsewhere that I can't separate the second 2/10 storm from the first one in terms of how the experience went overall, and the same goes with the whole 1/6/96 to 1/12/96 period. So of course those would be better winter weather weeks than the week of 1/16. But if I had to pick which one was the best in isolation, every indicator for 1/16 (total snow, winds, drifts) was just a bit better than 1/96. 2/5-6/10 still had the greatest impact of any storm I've lived through because of the 30-hr power outage in addition to being stuck.

Pretty darn close--- remember NCDC's NESIS maps are "stingy" for all events, so they compare ok with each other. The biggest differences are SW VA and New England.

True. 2/5-6/10 and 1/96 were tied for me. I couldn't pick between the two even though 2/5-6/10 was greater in snowfall. But, then it's hard to answer a poll like this because of course it comes down to what one experienced in their own location.

Gotcha-- so extending outside of the Mid-Atlantic region (the poll's wording) too. 1/96 definitely had a bigger impact further SW through all of VA. And this storm had the 30" line further east in the metro regions. For due-west of the metro regions (so Frederick County, MD, Loudoun County, VA, and Frederick County, VA/Winchester), 1/16 looks to be a bit more. We could go county-by-county and have different answers to the poll.

Not for areas to your south..... see my post above.

For most of the metro and west areas--- draw a line from DC to Baltimore and go directly westward (so excluding Carroll County)--- this storm actually barely beat out 1/96 in terms of total snow and winds/drifts.

This was an old poll. The 1/16 option just got added but I'm guessing most people just didn't feel like re-voting.

I think when your street got plowed has a lot to do with how big an impact you feel in the suburbs, and that just varies from storm to storm. It sounds like in MoCo, some people got freed sooner than in 2/5-6/10 and some later. I measured 2/10 in Potomac, not N. Bethesda, so I'm not sure how much this area got back then. Based on spotter reports, it seems likely N. Bethesda was in the 25-28" range for 2/5-6/10. I had 26.5" in 2/10 and ~28-29" for this one, but again in different locations. This storm was harder to measure for sure because of the wind, so I think that's what accounts for large differences in trained spotter/COCORAHS reports across short distances. (Like 25" vs. 34" a mile apart near Clarksburg or 22" vs. 32" less than a mile apart near Olney).

Did you lose power in 2/10? The most impact I've ever endured in a snowstorm was during and after 2/5-6/10. We lost power for 30 hours with the neighborhood road completely untouched by plows. So, we were cold and stuck. At least after Isabel, I could drive out to places that had power. Specifically for Montgomery County, MD, the two storms are pretty much tied in terms of snowfall ranges. 1/16 looks like it's 20-35" range in the county (if you throw out that 'aggressive' 38.5" report from North Potomac). 2/5-6/10 was 24-32" range if you throw out the high and low outliers.

I think the reason is the existence of this board, so now there's a whole community to get stressed with and the availability of all of this info we have now- radar, short-term models, etc. We were much younger in '96, so I relied more on what the TV weathermen were saying. And they weren't worried about the light mix period. It was the first mega one since '83 so the whole experience was amazing. Then in 2/03, the sleet was in the final forecasts, so I just accepted the changeover.

I would guess anyone in Howard County would put 2/5-6/10 above 1/16.

It's really hard for me to isolate 1/96 from that entire amazing week (2.5" from the clipper, then 6.5" from the Friday storm) and just as hard to isolate 2/5-6/10 from 2/9-10/10. A lot of my fond memories had to do with the feeling of those entire weeks. So, both of those storms get a boost from what happened afterwards. If I were to just compare the period when the snow was falling, then 1/16 wins. It's the biggest storm total in my location in my lifetime and had plenty of what I love about the best ones-- wind and drifts. And of course, thunder!

You wouldn't put the second 2/10 blizzard above '00?

I think IAD's 28" snow depth is its highest on record, beating the depth after the second February 2010 storm.

Well, it *would have been* except LWX knocked a few inches off of the 12/09 total later in the season to put it down to 18".

As for the surprised-sounding comments about how 2/9-10/10 wasn't amazing for people south of DC--- how is there still surprise?! Our NoVA posters have hammered home time-after-time over the years how that storm was good but not nearly historic for them. Which just goes to show that of course a poll like this will still be very IMBY even though it's supposed to be regional. I still can't pick between 1/96 and 2/5-6/10 for my location. It's a tie based on the criteria that I value: 2/5-6/10 won on storm total and tied on winds; 1/96 won on drifts and street accumulation. But, for the mid-atlantic, 1/96 is IMO the winner given how much more of VA experienced 20"+ snow totals.

And adding in the snow from last week, the two-season average for IAD is 44.9", which is crazy good. At the very least, we're done with "feast or famine" assumption of how winters work around here, which didn't really apply to much of the region anyway during the last 10 years. DCA's 18.3" total is obviously neither a feast nor a famine.

What's interesting about wind, though, is that the two storms were very comparable throughout the DC area--- 2/5/10 was actually windier at DCA during the height of the snow than 1/96.

Some, maybe. But, I and some others who have experienced both storms and posted in the thread already don't think '96 is a slam-dunk winner over 2/10. It depends, as always, on location and your priorities in a storm.

I am only in my 30's, and I've experienced five 20"+ snowstorms (2/83, 1/96, 2/03, 12/09, 2/10) in lower Montgomery County, MD. Someone who died the year that I was born, even if he/she lived until age 100, would have only experienced two such storms in the same location.

I can't choose between 1/96 and 2/5-6/10. I experienced both in the same house in Potomac, MD. 1/96: more road accumulation-- there was no way to drive out of the neighborhood until the plows came, whereas in 2/10, we were able to use the tire tracks from early in the storm to form a driving trail two days after the storm before the plows came; colder; higher drifts 2/10: more snow (26.5" vs. 24"); higher overall impact because we lost power for 30 hours (and unlike after Isabel, we couldn't drive to some place with power during the outage); higher snowfall rates The winds were equal in both (gusts to around 40 mph during the fiercest part).

I went to undergrad in the Boston area, so I always root for the city for huge snowstorms. Any idea why the NWS latest warning text (1 to 2 ft, locally more) is completely out of range from the latest snowfall map (24-36", 29" being the "most likely" amount for Boston)? They were released at almost the same time.

It wasn't just more snow--- it was windier by quite a bit too. I think many remember the heavy, wet nature of the snow foremost, but the wind was what a lot of you all commented on *during* the event: http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?/topic/223324-dcvamdwv-hecs-obs-and-discussion-ii/ http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?/topic/223380-dcvamdwv-hecs-obs-and-discussion-iii/ DCA was windier during the height of 2/5-6/10 than during any phase of 1/96.

I know calendar months are kind of arbitrary cut-offs when looking at snow, but this is the first winter on record with 3 months recording >10" of snow at IAD.