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Historic Storms Slam Northern Plains
A series of significant spring storm systems have left their mark across parts of the Great Plains States through the first two weeks of April.
This is the time of year when we expect these types of storms, especially severe weather and tornadoes, but this has not been the case. Heavy snow and mid-winter like weather conditions have been the headlines as we close in on the first month of spring.
Let’s start on April 9 when a low pressure system exited the Rockies and moved across the central plains. Incredible amounts of snow fell across western South Dakota and especially in the Black Hills. At the Rapid City Regional Airport, the greatest ever recorded single snowstorm total was observed with 28.2″ falling by April 10. Downtown Rapid City recorded their second greatest total ever measured, although records date back far longer than they do at the airport. My favorite towns in the Black Hills, Deadwood and Lead, came in with 30″ and 26.4″, respectively.
Not to be outdone by their neighbors to the south, North Dakota was in the crosshairs for the next system beginning on the 13th. An incredible amount of all-time records were observed in Bismarck, which go all the way back to 1875. First, a daily record for snowfall on April 14 was set with 17.3″ falling in 24 hours. This also broke the record for snowfall on any single calendar day of the year, besting the 15.5″ that fell on March 3, 1966. Also a new record for snowfall in the month of April, with 21.5″ as of the 15th, has been set breaking the previous record of 18.7″ from 1984.
Winter storm warnings are currently in place across the Rocky Mountains north of Denver, southeast Wyoming, and extending into northwest Nebraska and southwest South Dakota. A blizzard watch has also been issued across the plains of Colorado east of Denver. This storm doesn’t look like it will bring record snowfall like the previous two storms, but totals of 6 to 12 inches are likely for many areas.
To go along with these systems, cold air has been entrenched across the northern plains states since March. Much of the Dakotas and northwest Minnesota have seen temperatures greater than 10 degrees below average for March and midway through the month of April.
Fargo, ND has yet to reach 50 degrees in 2013. The latest date they have ever recorded to reach 50 is April 17. This will surely be broken and could go for at least another 8 to 10 days.
The below average temperatures have created a very serious problem for communities stretching along the Red River, including Fargo. The snowpack has yet to melt over North Dakota and northern Minnesota. Because of this, it looks like a top-five record crest of the Red River is likely in Fargo. When warmer temperatures do arrive, flooding will certainly be a major concern. The snow-water equivalent of the snowpack ranges from 4 to 8 inches for a large portion across these areas. It looks as though a spring flood on the magnitude of the 1997 and 2009 record floods are in store.
Residents here are no strangers to floods, though. In just 7 days, one million sandbags were filled in Fargo. There has been much attention paid to the threat of significant flooding this year, and preparations will be ongoing until it comes.
Upstate New York Snow Totals From February 8-9, 2013 Storm
While the Northeast was buried under a historic blizzard, areas in Western and Upstate New York received significant snow totals of their own.
The greatest amounts were found north and east of Buffalo. For many of these locations this was the second consecutive weekend of receiving more than one foot of snow.
Here are reports across Upstate New York, courtesy of the National Weather Service in Buffalo, NY.
Cattaraugus County
Perrysburg – 8.0″
Cattaraugus – 4.0″
Little Valley – 4.0″
West Valley – 4.0″
Franklinville – 3.5″
Randolph – 3.0″
Olean – 2.4″
Salamanca – 2.0″
Chautauqua County
Sinclairville – 13.0″
Forestville – 7.0″
Findley Lake – 6.2″
Ripley – 4.8″
Jamestown – 3.8″
Erie County
Grand Island – 14.7″
Tonawanda – 12.0″
Swormville – 10.3″
Kenmore – 10.0″
Alden – 9.0″
Williamsville – 8.9″
Buffalo (NWS Office) – 8.4″
Akron – 8.0″
Springville – 8.0″
Orchard Park – 6.0″
Boston – 6.0″
West Falls – 6.0″
Colden – 5.5″
East Aurora – 5.5″
Elma – 5.5″
West Seneca – 4.0″
Hamburg – 4.0″
South Wales – 3.0″
Genesee County
Oakfield – 11.0″
Stafford – 8.0″
Pavilion – 6.5″
Jefferson County
Henderson – 15.0″
West Carthage – 13.0″
Theresa – 7.5″
Lewis County
Lowville – 12.1″
Constableville – 12.0″
Beaver Falls – 11.0″
Highmarket – 9.7″
Watson – 9.5″
North Osceola – 8.0″
Monroe County
Irondequoit – 16.0″
Greece – 15.5″
Spencerport – 15.0″
Ogden Center – 14.0″
Chili Center – 14.0″
Rochester – 13.1″
Rochester (Airport) – 12.4″
Webster Village – 11.0″
Webster – 7.7″
Honeoye Falls – 7.5″
Niagara County
Gasport – 18.0″
Lockport – 17.0″
Sanborn – 16.0″
South Lockport – 16.0″
Ransomville – 16.0″
Youngstown – 14.4″
Lewsiton – 14.0″
Pendleton – 14.0″
Cambria – 13.0″
Niagara Falls – 13.0″
North Tonawanda – 11.7″
Niagara Falls (Airport) – 10.8″
Orleans County
Holley – 14.0″
Lyndonville – 9.5″
Oswego County
Fulton – 9.5″
Redfield – 7.0″
Minetto – 6.8″
Lacona – 6.3″
Palermo – 5.7″
Sandy Creek – 5.2″
Mexico – 5.1″
Oswego – 3.8″
Wayne County
Newark – 13.5″
Marion – 13.0″
Walworth – 12.5″
Palmyra – 11.9″
Wyoming County
Warsaw (Hill) – 9.0″
Java Center – 6.5″
Silver Springs – 3.0″
Heavy Lake Effect Snow In Buffalo, NY
An intense band of lake effect snow moved into Buffalo early this morning and dropped 6-10″ in a few hours around the airport before moving further north into Niagara County.
Heavy snow fell for much of the day between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Areas such as Grand Island, North Tonawanda, Sanborn, and South Lockport received the brunt of this storm.
From 7:30pm to 8:15pm, Grand Island received 4.0″ of snow. That’s not a typo, 4 inches in 45 minutes.
Here are snow totals reported so far for this storm;
Erie County
Grand Island – 14.6″
Kenmore – 13.7″
North Park – 12.0″
Riverside – 11.2″
Williamsville – 10.3″
Elmwood Village – 9.9″
Depew – 9.5″
Lancaster – 9.4″
Harris Hill – 9.2″
Buffalo Niagara International Airport – 9.1″
Tonawanda – 8.5″
Clarence – 8.0″
Alden – 8.0″
Akron – 5.5″
West Seneca – 4.0″
Hamburg – 3.3″
Niagara County
Sanborn – 13.0″
North Tonawanda – 10.0″
Niagara Falls Airport – 8.7″
South Lockport – 8.0″
Pendleton – 7.7″
Lockport – 6.8″
Cambria – 5.5″
Youngstown – 3.5″
I will update storm totals as they come in.
Pictures below were taken on Grand Island.
New York State Lake Effect Snow Totals
Parts of Western and Central New York were buried by as much as 2-3 feet of lake effect snow from January 20 through January 24, 2013. Below are reports of total snow accumulation during that period. Information from the Buffalo, NY NWS website was used. ALLEGANY COUNTY RUSHFORD 7.6 700 AM 1/24 WEST ALMOND 6.6 700 AM 1/24 ALFRED 2.9 700 AM 1/24 WHITESVILLE 1.5 700 AM 1/24 CATTARAUGUS COUNTY PERRYSBURG 25.0 1100 AM 1/24 WEST VALLEY 16.0 700 AM 1/24 LITTLE VALLEY 13.5 700 AM 1/24 FRANKLINVILLE 11.0 1100 AM 1/24 RANDOLPH 10.0 700 AM 1/24 ALLEGANY 6.8 700 AM 1/24 OLEAN 4.0 700 AM 1/24 CAYUGA COUNTY FAIR HAVEN 36.0 700 AM 1/24 STERLING 35.0 700 AM 1/24 CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY RIPLEY 26.8 700 AM 1/24 FORESTVILLE 20.5 700 AM 1/24 SINCLAIRVILLE 20.0 1100 AM 1/24 JAMESTOWN 12.5 1100 AM 1/24 KENNEDY 11.1 700 AM 1/24 DUNKIRK 8.6 700 AM 1/24 ERIE COUNTY COLDEN 18.9 1100 AM 1/24 GLENWOOD 17.5 700 AM 1/24 BOSTON 15.5 700 AM 1/24 COLLINS 15.0 700 AM 1/24 HOLLAND 14.1 700 AM 1/24 HAMBURG 12.2 700 AM 1/24 BLASDELL 11.3 700 AM 1/24 WALES 11.0 700 AM 1/24 EAST AURORA 6.5 700 AM 1/24 ELMA 5.9 700 AM 1/24 WEST SENECA 3.5 700 AM 1/24 GRAND ISLAND 3.4 1100 AM 1/24 WILLIAMSVILLE 2.1 1100 AM 1/24 BUFFALO NIAGARA ARPT 2.0 1100 AM 1/24 GENESEE COUNTY STAFFORD 0.5 700 AM 1/24 JEFFERSON COUNTY MANNSVILLE 7.0 700 AM 1/24 PIERREPONT MANOR 4.0 700 AM 1/24 THERESA 0.3 700 AM 1/24 LEWIS COUNTY OSCEOLA 19.0 700 AM 1/24 HIGHMARKET 10.7 700 AM 1/24 CONSTABLEVILLE 8.5 700 AM 1/24 LIVINGSTON COUNTY DANSVILLE 2.1 700 AM 1/24 MONROE COUNTY HAMLIN BEACH 11.0 700 AM 1/24 HILTON 8.0 700 AM 1/24 PARMA CENTER 7.0 700 AM 1/24 ROCHESTER 4.4 1100 AM 1/24 ROCHESTER ARPT 3.6 1100 AM 1/24 NORTH CHILI 0.9 700 AM 1/24 NIAGARA COUNTY NEWFANE 12.0 700 AM 1/24 BARKER 10.0 700 AM 1/24 LOCKPORT 5.1 700 AM 1/24 NIAGARA FALLS ARPT 5.0 1100 AM 1/24 YOUNGSTOWN 3.1 700 AM 1/24 NORTH TONAWANDA 2.8 1100 AM 1/24 PENDLETON 2.5 700 AM 1/24 ORLEANS COUNTY LYNDONVILLE 13.0 700 AM 1/24 CARLTON 10.0 700 AM 1/24 OSWEGO COUNTY FULTON 38.4 1100 AM 1/24 PHOENIX 36.8 1100 AM 1/24 PALERMO 36.7 1100 AM 1/24 BOWEN CORNERS 34.0 700 AM 1/24 BENNETTS BRIDGE 33.0 700 AM 1/24 PULASKI 30.7 700 AM 1/24 MINETTO 26.9 700 AM 1/24 LACONA 24.8 700 AM 1/24 SANDY CREEK 18.4 700 AM 1/24 OSWEGO 17.3 700 AM 1/24 MEXICO 14.9 1100 AM 1/24 WAYNE COUNTY SODUS 12.0 700 AM 1/24 SODUS POINT 8.0 700 AM 1/24 WALWORTH 2.7 700 AM 1/24 PALMYRA 1.3 700 AM 1/24 WYOMING COUNTY WARSAW 13.2 700 AM 1/24 SILVER SPRINGS 8.5 700 AM 1/24
Updated Lake Effect Snow Totals For New York State
A lake effect snow event has continued over parts of Western and Central New York since January 20, 2013. Snow bands off of Lakes Erie and Ontario have produced significant accumulations in localized areas.
Listed below is the most recent reported storm totals for counties in New York State as of Wednesday, January 23, 2013:
Cattaraugus County
Perrysburg – 24.0″
West Valley – 13.5″
Little Valley – 10.5″
Franklinville – 10.0″
Cayuga County
Sterling – 31.0″
Fair Haven – 30.0″
Chautauqua County
Ripley – 26.8″
Sinclairville – 18.0″
Kennedy – 9.9″
Dunkirk – 6.8″
Erie County
Glenwood – 15.0″
Collins – 14.0″
Colden – 14.0″
Boston – 12.5″
Hamburg – 8.7″
Blasdell – 7.8″
Wales – 7.0″
Lewis County
Osceola – 19.0″
Highmarket – 10.7″
Monroe County
Hamlin Beach – 11.0″
Hilton – 8.0″
Parma Center – 7.0″
Niagara County
Newfane – 10.0″
Barker – 8.0″
Orleans County
Carlton – 7.0″
Oswego County
Fulton – 38.0″
Palermo – 36.5″
Bowen Corners – 34.0″
Bennetts Bridge – 33.0″
Pulaski – 30.7″
Minetto – 25.9″
Lacona – 24.7″
Wayne County
Sodus – 12.0″
Sodus Point – 8.0″
Wyoming County
Warsaw – 11.7″
Silver Springs – 8.0″
New York State Lake Effect Snow
There have been significant snowfall totals for areas downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario since Sunday, January 20. An arctic air mass has brought very cold temperatures to the Great Lakes region.
This has ignited lake effect snow for areas favored by west to northwest winds.
Since late Sunday Ripley, NY has received more than 2 feet of snow. As of 7am this morning, January 22, they have officially measured 24.8″. With snow still falling through this afternoon and more expected tonight and tomorrow, storm totals may exceed 3 feet for this town in Chautauqua County near the New York, Pennsylvania state line.
Off of Lake Ontario, significant snowfall amounts have also been reported. As of 8am today, Bennetts Bridge in Oswego County has checked in with 32.0″ of new snowfall. Totals of more than 2 feet are common throughout much of Oswego County.
This lake effect snow event will continue for these areas at least another 36 hours.
Below is a list of snowfall totals as of the morning hours of January 22, 2013:
Cattaraugus County
Perrysburg – 13.0″
Little Valley – 10.5″
West Valley – 8.0″
Franklinville – 8.0″
Cayuga County
Fair Haven – 18.0″
Chautauqua County
Ripley – 24.8″
Sinclairville – 12.0″
Kennedy – 6.9″
Dunkirk – 6.4″
Erie County
Collins – 12.0″
Glenwood – 11.5″
Colden – 11.2″
Boston – 10.5″
Hamburg – 8.2″
Blasdell – 7.8″
Wales – 4.0″
Lewis County
Osceola – 15.0″
Highmarket – 6.8″
Oswego County
Bennetts Bridge – 32.0″
Fulton – 21.0″
Palermo – 19.7″
Pulaski – 19.0″
Minetto – 15.4″
Lacona – 13.0″
Wyoming County
Warsaw – 8.0″
Silver Springs – 6.0″
These reports are from the Buffalo, NY National Weather Service website.
The band of lake effect snow over Lake Ontario has been brushing the lakeshore of Niagara and Orleans Counties throughout the day. This snow band will move inland into northern and central Niagara and Orleans Counties tonight. There is the potential for 6-12 inches of snow by Wednesday morning, January 23.
HeetSeeker 