Records broken by 3rd nor’easter in 2 weeks, 4th possible next week
Featured image: Third nor'easter affecting US since March 2, 2018. Image acquired 13:00 UTC on March 13, 2018. Credit: NOAA/GOES-EAST
The third nor'easter to hit Mid-Atlantic and Northeast since March 2 brought blizzard conditions to parts of Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island and left hundreds of thousands without electricity. A new weather system will spread snow and ice from the West to the Midwest and East into next week, possibly evolving into fourth nor'easter.
The storm, named Skylar by The Weather Channel, hammered the Northeast corridor on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, with heavy snow, damaging winds and minor coastal flooding as it bombed out the coast.
The storm set several March snow records in Southern New England, knocking off ones set by a 1993 blizzard that marked its 25-year anniversary Tuesday.
Boston saw 36.8 cm (14.5 inches) of snow, setting a record both for most snowfall recorded on March 13 and most snowfall recorded over a one-day period in March.
Worcester set the same two records Tuesday with 55.3 cm (21.8 inches) of accumulated snow.
Up to 26.7 cm (10.5 inches) of snow was reported in the Lexington, Kentucky, metro area March 12, where the average annual snowfall is only 32 cm (12.6 inches).
In West Virginia, snowfall rates of 7.6 cm (3 inches) per hour were measured in Camden-on-Gauley and Summersville. Calvin, West Virginia, had picked up 45.7 cm (18 inches) of snow through March 12.
Snowfall rates accelerated as Skylar pivoted into the Northeast on March 13, with rates as high as 8.2 cm (3.25 inches) per hour were recorded in New England. The heaviest snow fell from eastern Massachusetts to central and coastal Maine.
So far, Boston has had 144.2 cm (56.8 inches) of snow this season, ranking 30th for most snowfall since record-keeping began. Worcester would rank 18th, with 219.9 cm (86.6 inches) of snow this season, the Boston Globe reports.
During Tuesday’s storm, Boston, Marshfield, Martha’s Vineyard, Plymouth, and Hyannis all officially recorded blizzard conditions, according to the weather service. Hyannis was in a blizzard state for 10 hours and 35 minutes; Marshfield, 9 hours; Falmouth, 8 hours and 40 minutes; Martha’s Vineyard, 8 hours and 22 minutes; and Boston, 6 hours.
There were more than 1 600 flight cancelations across the US on Tuesday, with a number of them coming from Boston Logan Airport.
According to The Weather Channel, winter will continue to hold on strong as more snow and ice spread from the West to the Plains, Midwest and possibly the Northeast into early next week. This could potentially include the fourth nor'easter this month.
There are two systems currently being tracked.
1. Through Saturday: Low pressure currently bringing snow to the West will move into the northern Plains and Midwest with snow and ice Friday and Saturday. The wintry weather from this system will mostly dissipate before reaching the East Coast.
2. Through Early Next Week: The second storm will bring snow to the West Coast beginning Thursday, spreading into the rest of the West Friday through Sunday, then into the Northern Plains Sunday into Monday before reaching the Midwest and Northeast beginning Tuesday. This system could evolve into the fourth coastal storm to affect the Northeast since March 2.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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