Mid-Atlantic sets all-time snow records (storm hits 969mb)

[phantom power]

969mb.
:wow:

The second ferocious blizzard in a week to pound the Mid-Atlantic continues to intensify, but has now moved out to sea away from the coast. That's a very good thing, because with a central pressure of 969 mb, the storm is as intense as a Category 1 hurricane. The blizzard brought wind gusts as high as 51 mph at Massachusetts' Nantucket Island last night. The snow has pretty much ended over the Northeastern U.S., but the mighty blizzard dumped 1 - 2 feet of snow over much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with a peak snowfall of 27.5" recorded at Ortanna, Pennsylvania. When combined with the 1 - 2 feet of snow still on the ground from last weekend's blizzard, the snow depths in the Mid-Atlantic are reaching ridiculous proportions. This morning, Baltimore reported 35" of snow on the ground, which would break their previous all-time record of 30" on snow on the ground, set on February 13, 1899. The 19.8" that fell on Baltimore from the blizzard was that city's 10th greatest snowfall on record. Philadelphia's 15.8" was its ninth greatest snowfall. The winter of 2009 - 2010 now has three spots on the top ten all-time heaviest snowfall list for those cities. Record keeping began in the late 1800s, and I'm not aware of any major city in the U.S. that has that many record snowfalls in one winter. If there is, I want to hear about it! Washington D.C.'s 10.8" snowfall from the storm missed making its top ten list of heaviest snows, so that city has only two storms from the winter of 2009 - 2010 on the list. The snow blitz that the Mid-Atlantic has endured with the three record-setting Nor'easters of the 2009 - 2010 is truly a rare event that has no parallel in the historic record.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

[distantearlywarning]

1. This storm also was 4th biggest snowfall of all time here in Pittsburgh

[T Wolf]

4. Now we Mid-Atlanters know how the upper midwest and "real" north are like - the snow falls A LOT

and does not go away the next day.

Near Philly, we have at least 30 inches (or more) on the ground and have set an all-time seasonal record. And it's only MID-FEBRUARY!!!

The "evil" part of me is hoping for even more. Lots more. But an interesting graph in today's paper

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20100211_More_big_storms_possible__forecasters_say.html?imageId=30203692

shows how unusual this winter has been for us.

[BeFree]

2. 969mb

From what I gather the 969mb means a very low surface pressure.
Which correlates to a giant sucking of surface air up into the upper atmosphere.
From far away, moisture laden air is being sucked up to the 30,000 feet + area of the atmosphere where the temperature is maybe -10 degrees.

You suck all that moisture into cold air and it freezes, then falls due to gravity.
As if falls down through warmer air it unfreezes and turns to rain or snowflakes.

[JackintheGreen]

3. Don't hurricanes start at 985 mb? n/t

[BeFree]

5. Hurricanes

They can form at slightly below 1,000. IIRC.

And a curiosity of hurricanes and the like is that above the storm (40,000 feeet+) which is turning counter-clockwise, is a clockwise rotation that contributes to the big sucking.

[Xenotime]

6. If this isn't proof global warming is more effective than ever.

It's proof to show that the climate is very unstable. As the environment begins to deteriorate I think we will see even worse conditions.