During the next six hours there was little change in the area of precipitation. At this time one low center was moving eastward near Quantico, Virginia, while another was also moving eastward near Danville, Virginia. Snow had spread from southern New Jersey, beginning at 10:45 AM at Newark and 11:03 AM at New York City. Precipitation fell as rain over southern Maryland and southern Virginia, while snow was falling over the remainder. By 7:30 AM EST on the 18 th, the area of snowfall attending the developing southern low centers over eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia had enlarged to cover the Ohio Valley and had spread eastward over the Appalachians to cover most of the Mid-Atlantic states. US Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map at 1:30 AM EST on 19 March 1956.Īll of this set the stage for the biggest storm, which occurred from March 18-20 th. Snowfall at Blue Hill Observatory measured 12.9 inches, and a peak wind gust to 78 miles per hour was recorded. In just 12 hours the intense storm moved from a position off the coast near Atlantic City to 380 miles east of Boston. It deposited 14 inches of new snow at Albany, New York., 6 inches at Hartford, Connecticut, and 10 inches at Concord, New Hampshire, New York City and Boston. This storm was a nearly perfect example of the rapid development of a coastal storm. By 7:30 AM EST, March 17, the storm was well out to sea some 380 miles east of Boston. Snow and strong winds covered the Northeastern states and gales continued on the New England coast. By 1:30 AM EST, March 17, the lowest pressure was 970 mb just east of Nantucket. Snow had now spread over all of the North Atlantic states, attended by strong winds with gales on the coast. By 7:30 PM EST on March 17, the low center in eastern Kentucky had entirely filled and the secondary low had formed and deepened to 984 mb just off Atlantic City, New Jersey The pressure at Atlantic City fell 25 mb in just 12 hours, indicating the explosive nature of the cyclogenesis that took place. An area of 3-hourly pressure falls of 4 to 5 mb, concentrated in eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, strongly indicated a secondary development on the coast. A warm front lay along the Carolina coast and extended eastward north of Bermuda. By this time the typical pattern of development was evident. This storm brought widespread heavy rains in the southeastern states and snow through the Ohio Valley eastward to southern New Jersey. Meanwhile, a wave, which developed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the trailing polar front, had deepened and moved northeastward to eastern Kentucky. The North Atlantic states had been flooded with cold air due to eastward passage of a 1032-mb high from the Great Lakes region to Maine. The next storm was just two days later.īy 7:30 AM EST on Friday, March 16, 1956, the stage was set for the development of a coastal low that typically produces heavy snow and high winds in the Northeast. The storms started with a rather typical coastal development on March 14 th, which left 2.7″ of snowfall at Blue Hill Observatory. What was remarkable was that there were three snowstorms in March 1956 in a period of just 11 days from the 14 th to the 24 th. Of the three major snowfalls in March 1956 the storm from March 18-20 th was the most significant with upwards of 20 inches falling along the Northeast corridor and much of Southern New England. Including additional snow in April, the winter of 1955-56, with a total of 106.8 inches, was the third snowiest on record up to that time, and it is currently the eighth snowiest on the Observatory’s 133-year record. By the end of the month, the snow depth had peaked at 25 inches, and three 12-inch plus snowstorms had blanketed the Northeast bringing the monthly total at Blue Hill to a March record of 52.0 inches. March 1956 started with 5 inches of snow on the ground at Blue Hill Observatory. In New England, winter can still rule in March and heavy snows can occur even as late as April. The strong snowstorms in less than two weeks this March bring back memories of the big snows of March 1956. US Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map at 1:30 AM EST on 17 March 1956. Remembering the Incredible Snowstorms of March 1956
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