Nor’easters Blamed on Arctic Oscillation
AO Carves an Icy Path from Western Canada to Eastern United States
The 8th snowfall in New York since December 14 (6th this year) dumps another 19 inches of high compact snow on the city.
A bus stop in Queens, NY. An optimistic man waits for a bus as a fast moving winter storm causes a whiteout all the way up the northeastern coast of the U-S. Photo credit: Mike Segar/Reuters. Image may be subject to copyright.
Once again a major snowstorm engulfed the Northeast United States, dumping as much as 10 inches of snow in some places.
“Classes were called off and commutes were snarled from Tennessee to New England as cars and buses slipped and slid on highways. The New York area’s airports, among the nation’s busiest, saw hundreds of delayed or canceled flights. Pedestrians struggled across icy patches that were on their way to becoming deep drifts.” AP reported.
New York region experience its eights snowfall since December 14, 2010, including the “Bloomberg Blizzard” that dumped 20 inches on New York City after Christmas. When the snows arrived Wednesday, the city had already seen 36 inches of snow this season in comparison with the full-winter average of 21 inches.”
Snowfall Totals (so far this winter)
- NYC: 60 inches (compared with the average of 21 inches for the entire winter season)*
- Boston: 50.4 inches (about 270 percent increase over normal seasonal snowfalls for the same period)
- Providence, RI: 31.7 inches (two-fold increase)
- Connecticut (Bradley Int Airport): 59.1 inches ( more than double the normal)
Source: National Weather Service
* Not confirmed by NWS
Storm Highlights
- More than 1,000 flights canceled in New York area’s three major airports
- Thousands of airline passengers are stranded
- At least 300,000 customers is Washington DC metro area are without power
- Public schools remained closed for a second day Thursday
January 26, 2011
| Area Covered By Snow: | 45.5% |
| Area Covered Last Month: | 52.9% |
| Snow Depth | |
|---|---|
| Average: | 16.5 cm |
| Minimum: | 0.0 cm |
| Maximum: | 2385.7 cm |
| Std. Dev.: | 32.2 cm |
| Snow Water Equivalent | |
| Average: | 3.7 cm |
| Minimum: | 0.0 cm |
| Maximum: | 1138.5 cm |
| Std. Dev.: | 8.9 cm |
Source: NOAA/NOHRSC
Arctic Oscillation Chills North America, Warms Arctic
“Technically, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a climate pattern caused by the ring of winds that blow around the North Pole from west to east. When they are strong, they trap the Arctic air mass north of 55°N. That’s north of Edinburgh, Moscow and Ketchikan, Alaska. When they are weak, however, the frozen polar air escapes south and can visit sunny California.” Source.
United States, Canada, eastern Siberia, and Greenland land surface temperature anomalies for January 9 to 16, 2011, against 2003 to 2010 base averages, as observed by MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite. Above-average temperatures are in red and orange, below-average temperatures in shades of blue. “Oceans, lakes, and areas with insufficient data (usually because of persistent clouds) appear in gray.” Source: NASA-EO. Click image to enlarge. Download larger image (3 MB, JPEG)
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