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January 29 Blizzard

A nor’easter rapidly strengthened off the East Coast on January 29, dropping heavy snow and producing strong winds along coastal areas from Maryland to Maine. Storm snowfall totals exceeded 12 inches in these areas, with the greatest amounts of more than 24 inches in parts of eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York’s Long Island. Highest storm snow totals from several of the National Weather Service offices included -

  • Boston - 30.9 inches near Stoughton, MA (Norfolk County)
  • New York City - 25.0 inches near Orient, NY (Suffolk County)
  • Caribou, ME - 22.0 inches near Veazie, ME (Penobscot County)
  • Philadelphia/Mount Holly - 21.0 near Bayville, NJ (Ocean County)
  • Gray, ME - 20.0 inches near Bath, ME (Sagadahoc County)
  • Wakefield, VA - 14.0 inches near Ocean Pines, MD (Worcester County)

snowfall map

January 28-29 snowfall. Red dots indicate snowfall amounts of 18 inches or greater. Click to enlarge. Map credit: NWS Eastern Region Headquarters

January 29 tied as the all-time snowiest day on record for Boston, MA, which picked up 23.6 inches, and set the record for all-time snowiest day at Providence, RI, which accumulated 18.8 inches of snow. Meanwhile, Islip, NY, had its second all-time snowiest day and Atlantic City, NJ, had its sixth all-time snowiest day. January 29 snowfall also ranked among the ten greatest one-day snowfalls for January at several other climate sites.

snow table

January 29 snowfall and January and all-time rankings at several sites.

The storm pushed monthly snowfall totals to record territory at Atlantic City. The site accumulated 33.2 inches from January 1-29, making it the snowiest January on record and the third all-time snowiest month. Several other major climate sites have seen one of their five snowiest Januaries, which also rank among the 10 snowiest all-time months for a few of the sites.

snow table

January 1-29 snowfall and rankings at several sites.

The storm’s wind gusts generally ranged from 25 to 50 mph in coastal locations, with gusts of 65 to 80 mph in Downeast Maine, Cape Cod, and Long Island. Coastal areas from Delaware to Maine experienced blizzard conditions, including locations such as Atlantic City, NJ; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; and Portland, ME. More than 100,000 customers in Massachusetts lost power during the storm. In addition, several areas, particularly Cape Cod, experienced coastal flooding.

Please note that data from this storm is still being compiled so information is subject to change.

snow picture

Picture from National Weather Service Boston taken during the January 29 storm. Credit: NWS BOX