News - Blogs - Winter Storm Nemo slams Northeast

Winter Storm Nemo slams Northeast
Published: 2/8/2013 1:12 PM
Last Modified: 2/8/2013 1:17 PM

People wait for a bus at the Boston Seaport World Trade Center as snow begins to fall Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Snow was falling around the Northeast on Friday, ushering in what's predicted to be a massive blizzard. Boston could get 2 to 3 feet of snow, while New York City was expecting 10 to 14 inches. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The snow has started across New England in what will likely be the biggest snowstorm to hit the Northeast this season so far.

Areas from Maine to Massachusetts could see up to 3 feet of snow over the next 24 to 36 hours. And winds from the low pressure system will create blizzard conditions most of the night.

Now, back to that headline. Nemo? I know, I think it's silly, too. The Weather Channel decided to name winter storms like hurricanes, hoping it will help people take the situation more seriously or something. I think it's gimmicky -- though better than Snowmaggedon 2013 -- so I'll refrain from calling it Nemo throughout (That'll also help me avoid silly jokes like "Nemo is found in New England," or "Nemo to bury New England in 20,000 leagues." So, you're welcome).

Since our winter has been a bust so far, let’s live vicariously through them for just a little bit. And I mean just a little bit, because while I love a little snow every now and then, 3 feet is just too much.

The blizzard is the product of a Nor’easter charging up the east coast with another low pressure system moving across the Great Lakes. The combination of the coastal low with its moisture with the cold of the Great Lakes low means snow. Lots and lots of snow. (The little bit of rain that fell in Oklahoma this week was from the Nor’easter before it was a Nor’easter.)

The coastal low will also bring winds that could reach 70 mph, meaning blizzards. The wind will be out of the northeast, which will push water onto shore and make for high storm surges and coastal flooding.

Now that snow is falling there, the freakout has begun. More than 3,000 flights have been canceled and mass transit is shutting down this afternoon. City and state leaders through the Northeast are warning people to stay inside for the next 24 hours at least. Many have already declared disasters. The governor of Massachusetts has banned travel after 4 p.m. today. So, that’ll be interesting...

Here are some photos from the storm that have already come through the Associated Press.

Cars are stuck in traffic as a winter storm arrives , Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 in Newington, N.H. Snow began to fall around the Northeast on Friday at the start of what's predicted to be a massive, possibly historic blizzard, and residents scurried to stock up on food and supplies ahead of the storm. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

In a photo that is about as quintessentially New England as one can get, Andre Tranchemantague, left, and Will Guerette, ski on a snow-covered road as they make there way to a bar during the early stages of a snow storm, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Portland, Maine. A snowstorm sweeping into Maine already has dumped half-a-foot of snow around Portland and contributed to a 19-car pileup. And it's just getting started. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

In a photo that is about as quintessentially Canadian as one can get, pedestrians cross a snow-covered street in Toronto on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. A blizzard of potentially historic proportions threatened to strike the Northeast has many cancellations at the three big airports in the New York area. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

They raid grocery stores in the northeast, too. But for 3 feet instead of 3 inches like we do here. Jack Percoco of Cambridge, Mass. reaches into depleted shelves for milk at a supermarket in Somerville, Mass., Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. A major winter storm is heading toward the U.S. Northeast with up to 2 feet of snow expected for a Boston-area region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Looks kinda nice right now (except Canada...)! I could deal with that. Not the photos that we will see tomorrow, but right now doesn’t look awful.

I’m just sad and jealous, really. So far, we’ve only recorded a trace of snow. The last time that happened was the winter of 1910-1911.

To be fair, we still have quite a bit of winter to go. And our second snowiest winter came in March 1924 when more than 19 inches fell. So it could still happen, but not in the near term.

Rain is forecast tomorrow thanks to a strong trough that will come across the region. It’s looking like rain now, with enough stability in the atmosphere to tamp down much severe weather. A mostly dry system will come through mid-week, with a strong cold front on the horizon for next week. Here is what the NWS Tulsa forecast discussion says: “A strong cold front will arrive by Friday with possible wintery precip chances for next weekend. Stay tuned.”

Oh, we will.

-- Jerry Wofford

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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