Northeast Regional Climate Center

More Cold and Snow for the Northeast

Winters in the Northeast are widely recognized to be cold and snowy, and these two winter elements were certainly prominent during the final month of 1995. Temperatures during December were rarely extremely cold (only a couple daily records were broken), but were consistently colder than normal throughout the month. In Wilkes-Barre, PA, for instance, there were only six days during the month that averaged warmer than normal and only one day that was more than 5 degrees warmer than normal. The average temperature across the twelve states which comprise the Northeast averaged 3.6 degrees colder than the monthly normal. The smallest departures (less than 3 degrees) were noted in New England, with the state of Massachusetts reporting a monthly temperature departure of -2.4 degrees. The largest departures were recorded in the southern portion of the region, including a departure of -4.6 degrees for Delaware. Overall, it was the Northeast's 20th coldest December in the last 101 years.

Snowfall across the Northeast states ranged from near to well above normal during December. Monthly snowfall totals in the Baltimore-Washington area totalled between 2 and 3 inches, while Buffalo, NY was buried by 61.2 inches. This snowfall total for Buffalo was 37.4 inches greater than their long-term normal. Burlington, VT measured 44 inches of snow during December, which was nearly two feet (22.7 inches) more than they expect to receive during December. Syracuse, NY, however, leads the pack of major Northeast cities with a seasonal accumulation through the end of December of 79.3 inches (41.6 inches above normal for this point in the season). Some locations, such as Ithaca, NY, have already exceeded the total snowfall for the entire winter of 1994-95. You can view an enhanced table of monthly and seasonal snowfall totals for many location in the Northeast.

Despite the impressive snowfall amounts, precipitation totals were surprisingly below normal throughout the region. Each of the twelve northeast states reported below normal precipitation, with departures ranging from 0.62 inches below normal in Maine to 1.81 inches less than the thirty-year mean in New Jersey. The area-weighted average for the entire Northeast of 2.51 inches represented 73% of normal. It was the Northeast's 27th driest December in 101 years of record.

December Summary of State Temperature and Precipitaiton Averages.

Significant Weather Events

Early Season Snow

Cold air pouring eastward over Lake Ontario on the 7th produced very heavy snow bands with rates of up to 4 inches per hour. Snowfall totals include over 24 inches in parts of Lewis County; 20 inches in Highmarket; 36 inches in Redfield (Oswego County); over 12 inches south of Watertown and at the Stillwater Reservoir; and about 6 inches in the northern and western Adirondacks.

While lake effect snow was flying in New York on the 7th, an area of low pressure passing over the Carolinas brought a burst of snow which left 4 to 5 inches in parts of West Virginia and up to 6 inches across the central Delmarva peninsula.

Snow, Sleet, then COLD

A coastal low brought a wintry mix to the Northeast on the 9th. Before it pulled out of Maine early on the 10th, up to a foot of snow fell on the mountains of northern Maine and New Hampshire; 5 to 8 inches fell in southern Vermont and central New Hampshire; and 2 to 6 inches of snow was reported in eastern Pennsylvania from Bucks County to the Poconos, extreme northern New Jersey, the Catskills and Hudson Valley of New York, southwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts and coastal New Hampshire and Maine. One to 2 inches of snow whitened southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and most of New Jersey before changing over to sleet and rain. After the brief warm-up, a strong cold front ushered in the first major cold air outbreak of the season, freezing the slushy mix and producing dangerous wind chills. Western and central Pennsylvania, western Maryland, the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and central New York had wind chills as low as 20 to 30¡ below zero during the day and 30 to 50¡ below overnight. Eastern Pennsylvania, central and eastern Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware and New Jersey had wind chills ranging from 10 to 25¡ below zero. Dangerous wind chills continued on the 10th throughout the region.

Lake Effect Buries Buffalo

The combination of frigid air and strong west to southwest winds set up the lake effect snow machine off Lakes Erie and Ontario late on the 9th and throughout the day on the 10th. Intense snow bands dumped 2 to 4 inches per hour for much of the duration of the storm, reducing visibilities to zero and lowering the wind chill to 30¡ below zero. The unusually narrow snow band off Lake Erie dumped 28 to 38 inches on metropolitan Buffalo, NY and less than 3 inches 10 miles to the north. A state of emergency was declared in Buffalo, where National Guard troops were called in to help clear roads. The airport was closed, sports events cancelled and shoppers had to postpone their trips to the store. Farther to the east, snow bands off Lake Ontario produced near-blizzard conditions in portions of Jefferson and Lewis Counties. Snow fall rates of 3 to 5 inches an hour dumped up to 40 inches and blowing snow in wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph lowered visibilities to near zero.

A slight wind shift on the 11th left 19 inches of lake effect snow piled up in parts of Oswego and Lewis Counties, NY; 12 to 14 inches on southern St. Lawrence County, NY; 6 to 10 inches in Warren County, PA; and 7 inches in Cattaragus County, NY. Wind chills advisories were issued again as temperatures refused to moderate and northwest winds whipped.

Slippery Travel

An approaching warm front on the 14th brought a wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow to parts of the region. Freezing rain caused treacherous driving conditions in the Washington, DC area, resulting in numerous accidents, including a 15-car pileup in Maryland. Sections of major highways were closed due to the extremely slippery conditions. Western New York experienced snow that changed to sleet and freezing rain, with little accumulations. To the east, however, snow prevailed and 5 to 8 inches fell in eastern New York and adjacent western and central New England. Totals in southern Maine and New Hampshire were in the 7 to 11 inch range. The storm shut down Logan Airport in Boston for two hours, and slippery roads caused many accidents. The storm claimed 6 lives in New England, 5 in auto accidents and one from exposure.

Large Storm Blankets Northeast

A storm brewing over the Gulf coast moved north and combined with a coastal low on the 19th to bring sleet, freezing rain and snow to much of the region from the 19th to the 21st. Sleet and freezing rain in central Maryland, including the Baltimore-Washington area caused several accidents and slowed traffic to a standstill. Ice pellets one half inch to 1 inch deep were measured in several locations in the northern tier of Maryland and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. There were some reports of downed power lines in these areas. Six to 18 inches fell on northern and central Pennsylvania (Williamsport reported 17 inches), while a glaze of ice with 3 to 6 inches of snow on top covered much of southern Pennsylvania. Snowfall totals in New York were 8 to 12 inches in the western Southern Tier and parts of Wayne County; and 4 to 8 inches in the rest of the state. New Jersey received 3 to 9 inches; western Connecticut, 5 to 8 inches; and western Massachusetts, southern Vermont, and northern New Hampshire and Maine had 3 to 6 inches. Central Vermont had 6 to 8 inches of new snow; southern New Hampshire and the southern two-thirds of Maine had 4 to 8 inches. Snowfall totals were 5 to 10 inches over southern New England, with eastern Massachusetts receiving the heavier amounts. Along coastal Massachusetts, strong northeast winds pushed tides as high as 2 feet above normal, causing minor coastal flooding in vulnerable areas. The low that brought the wintry weather stalled south of Nova Scotia, then intensified, bringing storm totals in central and interior eastern Maine to 8 to 16 inches. The storm slowed commuters, closed schools and businesses, caused delays and cancellations of pre-Holiday air travel, and even stopped mail delivery in places. Icy conditions caused an airplane to slide off a runway at Kennedy Airport in New York, injuring several people. There were four snow-related deaths reported in Connecticut. One positive note to the storm is that it practically guaranteed a white Christmas for most of the Northeast.

More Lake Effect for New York State

Persistent localized snow bands in eastern New York on the 21st dropped more than 10 inches of snow on a small area in the mountains east of Albany. Seven to 12 inches fell on northwest Columbia and southeastern Rensselaer Counties. Freezing drizzle south of Lake Ontario, from Batavia to Syracuse and Oswego on the 21st resulted in several accidents. Areas of freezing drizzle continued to cause dangerous driving conditions in western and central New York on the 22nd.

Six to ten inches of new snow and blustery winds greeted western New Yorkers on Christmas morning while moisture wrapping around a stationary low brought 3 to 6 inches to northern Maine.

New Weather Records

Economy

This month's snowfall was a mixed blessing for businesses in the Northeast. Although snow clogged roads and kept shoppers from the malls, when travel conditions improved, sales of winter-related items boomed. Video rental stores also benefited from forecasts of heavy snow. December's storms were especially hard on the retail industry, which hoped for a boost from Christmas sales. Ski slope operators were ecstatic as snow fell on the major metropolitan areas, for it reminded a very large segment of the population about winter sports. December's snow should have them off to a great start after last year's bust season.

Water Resources

Streamflows were normal in southern Maine and below normal elsewhere. Groundwater levels were below normal in eastern Maine, above normal in northwestern parts of the state, and normal elsewhere. Usable storage in the reservoir system was 71% of capacity; normal for the end of December is 60%.

No other Water Resource reports were received, probably due to the furlough of federal employees.