Tag: Nor’Easter

Elsewhere in Weather News: March 29th, 2014

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Atlantic Storm Slams Canadian Maritimes

This past week a strong Nor’easter affected the Canadian Maritimes which brought large amounts of snow as well as record-breaking wind gusts. The dynamic system that started off as a weak low off Florida’s east coast and quickly deepened, over 40mb in 24 hours, over the Gulf Stream. By the time the low had traveled up the East Coast and reached the Canadian Maritimes, it had peaked in strength at 955mb. Although this system, a cold low, was much different dynamically than a hurricane, it brought extreme wind gusts of category 3 strength; 186km/h gust in Wreckhouse, NL (breaking the old record of 180km/h). Widespread 100km/h gusts were reported across both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Impressive picture of the Nor'easter just before the storm reached maximum intensity. (Source: NOAA)
Impressive picture of the Nor’easter before the storm reached maximum intensity. (Source: NOAA)

The forecast proved to be a tough one, especially along Nova Scotia’s coast, where warm air coming off the Atlantic Ocean had an impact on the snow amounts. Widespread amounts of 40cm were reported in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Halifax’s snowfall total, which was affected by the warm air coming off the Atlantic, only received 21cm. The highest total out of all the major Maritime cities was Charlottetown, PEI, which reported an incredible 53cm from the storm and experienced snowfall rates as high as 10cm per hour. Unsurprisingly, about 20,000 people were out of power at some point in the Maritimes and most flights in Halifax were cancelled on Wednesday. The Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to the mainland was also closed, due to the strong winds.

Only to add salt to the wound, the Maritimes are expecting another messy weather system to affect the region Sunday night into Monday. It will bring a mixed bag of precipitation to the region, depending on proximity to the Atlantic Coast; rain and freezing rain can be expected near the coast such as in Halifax. Further inland into New Brunswick, ice pellets/freezing rain transitioning to heavy snow will fall. The precipitation amounts will not be as high as the previous system, but nonetheless significant, as models are snowing that conservatively 15cm could fall in the snowfall region and 20mm of rain near the coast.

Elsewhere in Weather News: February 9th, 2013

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Snowstorm Hits Moscow

On Tuesday, this past week, Moscow experienced yet another significant snowstorm which caused significant disruptions to traffic and was also the reason for numerous power outages. Several low pressure systems have been steered through the western half of Russia as a strong high pressure remains in place over Central Russia. This has put Moscow in a good spot to receive repeated bouts of snow. The most recent of their snowstorms brought 25cm of snow on Tuesday which meant significant traffic disruptions – as many as 3,000 accidents were reported by Moscow Police.

Moscow traffic jam

Moscow traffic backed up because of snow. (Source: RT)

On average, Moscow receives about 150cm of snow every winter but this year has been significantly above average in terms of snowfall. Winter 2012-2013 totals for Moscow are already at 216cm and with another month and a half to go with the possibility of snow it could be a long, cold spring for Moscow. The weather will turn cold and dry for Moscow next week as the strong high pressure expands a little further west.

New England Snowstorm

Another snowstorm, a little closer to home, is bringing significant amounts of snow to parts of the Eastern Seaboard – more notably New England. The deep low pressure system is located just off the East Coast and has a sharp deformation zone bringing heavy snow and even “thundersnow” to the Atlantic States. The highest accumulations are expected to reach around 80cm (could be higher locally) and it was not uncommon to see snowfall rates of 8cm/h on Friday evening! Power outages were the main concern to residents as below freezing temperatures move in. As of Friday night 500,000 people were without power across the North East US.

500mb analysis

500mb analysis when the strongest bands of snow were in place, at 9pm. Circled areas where the heaviest snow is expected to fall on Friday overnight. (Source: SPC)

Updates on this storm and snowfall totals will be forthcoming in the comments section as the low pulls off into Atlantic Canada.