Of the following storms which was your favorite?

[yoda]

I was too young to remember '93 (I was 6 at the time).  Last week's storm is still too fresh and too new for me.  I guess I would have to choose Jan 25, 2000. 

 

I remember a lot from that day actually.  I remember how it was going to be close but in the end it was going to be just a graze.  I think it was Bob Ryan from Channel 4 who called for up to an inch in the DC area, and even that was pushing it.  It was my 8th grade year, and I was fully into the weather, but I really didn't know about weather boards or models per se.  I remember sitting in my bed around 10 at night with my weather radio, hoping that there would be some kind of change in the path of the storm.  I was getting ready to fall asleep when I heard the tone come on the weather radio and the words "Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for..."  I waited to hear Fairfax and as soon as I heard it, I raced downstairs.  My dad was just coming home from playing volleyball with some of his law buddies and I was so excited that I screamed at him we had a Winter Storm Warning for snow.  My dad didnt believe me until he turned on the TV and saw the scrolling on the screen on TWC. 

 

I think also wasn't that the storm that NWS LWX also had to play catchup on (well everyone did) and were issuing WSWarn for 3-6, then 4-8, then 6-10, and then again for like 12-16?

[dailylurker]

Here one that's not on the list. November 11th 1987. I was in 3rd grade at the time. Forecast was for rain. Ended up with 16" in my area (crofton/ gambrills). I will never forget the insane Thundersnow in that storm. I was a weenie back then also. Probably one of my all time favorite storms.

[MillvilleWx]

I was too young to remember '93 (I was 6 at the time).  Last week's storm is still too fresh and too new for me.  I guess I would have to choose Jan 25, 2000. 

 

I remember a lot from that day actually.  I remember how it was going to be close but in the end it was going to be just a graze.  I think it was Bob Ryan from Channel 4 who called for up to an inch in the DC area, and even that was pushing it.  It was my 8th grade year, and I was fully into the weather, but I really didn't know about weather boards or models per se.  I remember sitting in my bed around 10 at night with my weather radio, hoping that there would be some kind of change in the path of the storm.  I was getting ready to fall asleep when I heard the tone come on the weather radio and the words "Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for..."  I waited to hear Fairfax and as soon as I heard it, I raced downstairs.  My dad was just coming home from playing volleyball with some of his law buddies and I was so excited that I screamed at him we had a Winter Storm Warning for snow.  My dad didnt believe me until he turned on the TV and saw the scrolling on the screen on TWC. 

 

I think also wasn't that the storm that NWS LWX also had to play catchup on (well everyone did) and were issuing WSWarn for 3-6, then 4-8, then 6-10, and then again for like 12-16?

 

That part of the 2000 storm was amazing. I was in the 5th grade at the time. My dad sent me to bed and said he would wake me if they put out a WSW. I wasn't even bed for 5 minutes and he came running up stairs screaming winter storm warning. I was so excited. From one snow weenie to another, it was a great father son moment

[snowfan]

Anyone have a good link for an archive of events? There's a Sunday snow that I remember well from the late 80s/early 90s. I don't believe it was terribly heavy, but I remember getting a pretty good thump during the day on a Sunday and for the life of me I can't remember the exact month/year.

[nw baltimore wx]

That part of the 2000 storm was amazing. I was in the 5th grade at the time. My dad sent me to bed and said he would wake me if they put out a WSW. I wasn't even bed for 5 minutes and he came running up stairs screaming winter storm warning. I was so excited. From one snow weenie to another, it was a great father son moment

 

Some good stories here.

[snowfan]

When we woke up the morning after the 96 storm, we didn't see the cars in the driveway. The drifts were insane. From the ridiculous blowing, snow even managed to make its way into the attic via the soffit. There was a pile of snow in the attic. No joke. Ended up melting down and leaving a nice big wet spot in the ceiling. At the time, we were the only house on our street and had to wait a few days before a front end loader finally made it out to clear the street. A few days later we decided to head over to the K-Mart in Shrewsbury to buy some puzzles. 851 had been plowed with a big V plow that you see on trains. There was barely enough room for two cars to make it down the tunnel. It literally was a tunnel the entire distance on 851 from Stewartstown to Shrewsbury, which is about 8 miles. Such an awesome storm.

[WEATHER53]

Barometer of 28.2 and have not been near that low since then.

That sleet in the afternoon with the 30+winds was winter storm gone wild stuff.

From Florida to Maine and back to TN and Ohio Valley it was extreme-historic.

93 and maybe decent percentage are too you to remember.

Right now I'd vote this last one number two. When I was outside around 2:30 that rate of snow, wind and size of flakes was slapping me. Constant patter of the flakes hitting you. Anyone else that was out in it can relate.

[mappy]

I remember all of them, though was living in Salisbury during 2006 so I didn't get to experience it first hand, but Jan 2000 hands down is my favorite. It's what got me interested in the weather. I was amazed at how a storm could throw everyone off like that so unexpectedly. Ended up getting snowed in at a friends house four houses down from my own for a few days. Was awesome (I was only 14 at the time).

[North Balti Zen]

The superstorm of 93, just for the sheer spectacle of it. I remember watching TWC almost 24/7. The snow totals in the south were historic, and the snow in the eastern mountain ranges was unreal. Even though it wasn't as bad as it could have been over here, still a noteworthy March storm for these parts.

I was visiting my Mom in Orlando when the front swept through down there. We went from highs in the upper 80s that day to a high just around 40 the next. The winds with the storms as the front approached and passed were a top 5 weather event for me of all time.

[GEOS5ftw]

My vote was for 93 also, just for the extremely rare strength of the storm. I was 9 at the time and living in western ffx, and I vaguely remember the forecasts leading up to it (wasn't hooked on twc at the time though) that we'd get a foot which I'd never seen before. I remember waking up that Saturday being amazed at how much evergreens in the backyard were bent over under the weight of the new snow, and the wind and the thin crusting of ice on top are something I remember also. The parking lot piles were immense too. It's my recollection that we didn't go back to school until Wednesday or Thursday even though the storm hit on Saturday, and this was in an era when schools didn't close as easily as they do now (although the following year we got a week off after the MLK ice storm and also a week off in 96 but the additional storms after the main event helped there). I do wonder if I were to experience it again, I'd be disappointed bc inevitably some model runs would have a further east track 2-3 days out which would pummel dc with 2ft+. Does anyone remember if this were the case? Obviously there were fewer models back then and they were not as easy to access.

 

January 2000 is another favorite because of the positive bust - I remember getting home from school, looking at the radar and thinking "how does this miss us?". Great 10 day period with 2 other storms on either side as well. I wasn't here for 2006 and this past week just didn't seem to have the impact of a 15 inch event due to the drizzle/melting during the day, plus the heaviest rates were during the 3 hours I decided to sleep.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

I saw all four of those storms- 1993, 2000 and 2006 I was in Glen Burnie, and 2014 in Prince Frederick. I would go with 2000 easily. The element of surprise plus it was the biggest snow totals out of those four. Loved that storm, glad to see its winning the poll. I doubt we'll ever see a positive bust of that magnitude again.

 

1993 was the first big storm I can vividly remember (I was 10 at the time) but I mostly remember the wind and the blowing snow- I never remembered it being much actual snow on the ground. When reading up on past storms as an adult, I was shocked to find out that BWI got a foot of snow from that storm. I don't feel like 1993 was really "our" storm... it was mostly a northeast and interior storm. Most people who live in this region who aren't weather geeks like us don't even remember it, while mostly everyone around here remembers '96 or 2003, for example.

 

2006 was one of the storms between 1998-2010 that BWI overmeasured supposedly and I believe it. Never seemed like we had that much snow and it melted fast. 

 

I may have liked 2014 more if I was in Glen Burnie again since they got way more than Prince Frederick. We flipped over to rain overnight and only ended up with about 4-5 inches of snow from the first part.

[ecosense]

1993

I was stationed at NAS Atlanta. Night crew supervisor for Avionics. All helos were on deck and serviced by 22:00. We headed to a local bar for a few beers before heading home. The rain was pouring and the radar showed a rain/snow line setting up just west of Marietta near the Cherokee Cobb County line. I drove home and at my exit ramp the driving rain turned to snow. by the end of the exit ramp about 200 yards there was 2" of snow. Craziest rain/snow line I've ever seen. Metro Atlanta averaged 11" of snow and was paralyzed. I was discharged later that year and moved back home to York County. 1996 was my favorite from this area we received 35" in Shrewsbury, PA with 10" falling a few days later.

[hosj III]

The only one I experienced was 2014. I assume I would have enjoyed 2000 the most if I was following weather back then for the sheer surprise factor. 2006 would have been fun and probably a close second. I'm sure 93 would be disappointing because a bunch of model runs would have kicked the storm east and given us 2-3 feet rather than the foot I would have gotten, and that would have been a bit bitter.

2014 was kind of a meh storm in my backyard, never got any t-snow and the changeover to plain rain and sleet compacted the heck out of the snow. The torch the next day was pretty awful as well. The rates overnight were cool though, but I'm not sure it was worth pulling an all-nighter in hindsight.

2000 would be awesome to experience again.

[gymengineer]

Model watching in the early 90's was nothing like it is today. There was absolutely no assumption that a medium-range forecast would be correct verbatim, and the public had less access to the model outputs themselves. The Blizzard of '93 was the first storm of its magnitude to be forecast so far in advance (meaning lead times on WSWatches all up and down the coast). If you're interested, read the article entitled "Forecasting the 12-14 March 1993 Superstorm" by Kocin, et al. It used to be free but I can't find a free version of it anymore.

And here's a superb overview of the storm by Kocin et al:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ilm/archive/Superstorm93/Overview_Kocin_Schumacher_Morales_Uccelini.pdf

[Harv_poor]

To me its 1993 by a lot. Lived in Vienna/Wolftrap for all four of the storms.  The 1993 storm was forecast several days ahead so there was tons of anticipation, and then I think on Friday they went to blizzard warnings. (As an aside, was there not a terrorist bomb exploding in the WTC garage on Friday?). Anyhow, Saturday started with heavy snow, then sleet, then rain and then back to all snow at night, leaving at least a foot of heavy wet cement that was a b**ch to shovel the next day. We did not see a plow until late Monday or Tuesday. I remember our new neighbor from the Buffalo area who was in shock that on Monday morning we still had not been plowed out.

[H2O]

Jan 200.  Surprise snows are always better than anything.  93 was good but Atlanta beat me in snow totals so that brings it down a notch

[HECS4DC14]

I got Bar Mitzvah'd in DC on March 13, 1993! Even though the storm caused most of my local friends to miss the affair, I was ecstatic! I woke up that am in Potomac, MD with over 6" on the ground and snow pouring down.. eventually there was a lull and drizzle but I remember how excited I was later in the evening at the party downtown as I looked out the window and saw heavy windswept snow coming down again! The duration and intensity was so cool! And then I was off from school for a whole week! Best Bar Mitzvah present ever for a true snow lover!!!

[87storms]

93 was too epic of an east coast storm for me to put 2000 ahead of it. I don't know that we will see another 93 in our lifetime along the east coast even though for dc it didn't produce huge amounts of snow. I was in silver spring at the time. Woke up at 3am to a light mix. Went to bed. Woke up at 8am to about a half a foot and blizzard like conditions. We flipped to sleet for several hours after about a foot of snow and I was able to walk on the snow without any issues. I don't recall ever being able to do that. Went back to moderate snow for a couple hours in the evening. I remember the snow bands were coming straight off the atlantic in the morning with a little Thundersnow. Very squally. Jan 2000 was cool but 93 was a pretty wild event.