*** Paul Piorek is editor and publisher of Paul's Local Weather Journal for southwestern Connecticut ... Paul is the on-air meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM ... Paul is a New York Emmy award winner (2007), five-time Emmy nominee, and four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association award for Best TV Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) ... Paul was voted Best Local Television Personality by the readers of Fairfield County Weekly Magazine (2012) ... Paul was inducted into the Housatonic Community College Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2012) ... The local weather journal is a two-time winner of the Communicator Award of Distinction (2012 & 2013) ... Paul is currently a full-time teacher of Earth Science and Mathematics in Fairfield ... Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulPiorekWICC ...

Friday, February 17, 2012

Ninth Anniversary of Presidents Day Blizzard

We'll enjoy a taste of early Spring once again today as temperatures climb close to 50 degrees or better. Early clouds and showers will give way to partly sunny skies this afternoon. The holiday weekend is just about here, and the well-publicized Sunday storm now looks as though it will miss us completely. The weather computer models indicate that it will pass well to the South of us. However, that wasn't the case nine years ago today.

Today marks the anniversary of the unforgettable Presidents Day Blizzard of 2003. It ranked as the snowiest day on record at the time at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, tying the previous mark of 16 inches established on December 19, 1948, over a half-century ago. In New York's Central Park, where records date back well over a century, the 19.8 inches rank as the fifth snowiest single day total ever! The weather map below is from midday February 17, 2003.

Nationalfronts1500z17feb03

The snowfall totals across southwestern Connecticut were impressive. Darien and New Canaan measured the most snow (20 inches), while Westport (19"), Bridgeport (17"), Norwalk (16"), and Milford (15") also posted impressive totals. New Fairfield, in Northern Fairfield County, led the way locally with exactly two feet of snow. Here is the satellite image of the massive storm.

Sat1500z17feb03

The magnitude of the storm was quite impressive. It spread heavy snow across the major cities in the Northeast from Washington to Boston. In fact, it was the biggest snowstorm on record in Baltimore (28.2") and Boston (27.5"). The storm actually developed in the southern Rockies on February 14 and moved through southern Missouri and the lower Tennessee Valley over the next two days. Eventually, the storm brought heavy rain and severe weather to the deep South.

In the Northeast, Arctic air helped slow down the storm and kept all of the precipitation in the form of snow and some sleet. By late Sunday evening, February 16, the snow reached the New York City area, and by midnight, it was snowing across all of southwestern Connecticut. A secondary area of low pressure developed off the Virginia coast the morning of February 17, turning the Nor'easter into a full-blown blizzard.

I'm often asked how it feels to work during a major storm, from driving into work in the middle of the night to staying on the air for hours at a time. I tell people it's kind of like my version of the Super Bowl or the World Series. I'm on the main stage, and my adreline is flowing all day long. The viewers play a vital role by sending me their weather observations, current conditions, and photos which I use all the time. During a big storm, give me the ball or, in this case, clicker! It's the "big time" for me.

This Presidents Day holiday weekend will be much quieter. Tomorrow will faeture sunshine followed by late-day clouds with a high in the middle 40s. Sunday will become partly sunny and seasonable with a high in the lower 40s. Presidents Day will be mostly sunny and breezy with a high in the low 40s. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

Paul