FOR RELEASE: April 4, 1997
Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr.
Office: (607) 255-3290
Internet: [email protected]
Compuserve: Larry Bernard 72650,565
http://www.news.cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Mother Nature had its own April Fools' prank in store
for the Northeast -- it took only the first day of this month to record
the snowiest April ever for Boston, Worcester, Mass., and Providence,
R.I., according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell
University.
"Certainly, it was a very significant storm," said Keith Eggleston,
climatologist at the center, describing what is being called the Great
April Fools' Day Storm of 1997. It took only hours for a powerful
Nor'easter to dump enough snow on many Northeastern locations to start
setting records. "If this storm had occurred in any part of winter, it
would have been a significant storm."
For Boston, the previous snowiest April was 1982, when the city endured
13.3 inches of white stuff. With this one storm on the first day of
the month, that record was convincingly obliterated: 22.4 inches of
snow fell on April 1, while 3 inches fell on March 31. This was
Boston's third greatest snowstorm ever as 27.1 inches of snow fell on
Feb. 6-7, 1978; and 26.3 inches of snow fell on Feb. 24-27, 1969.
Prior to this storm, Boston was suffering from a "snow deficit,"
according to the climate center. Up to March 30, Beantown was at 65
percent of its normal snowfall amount, which is 14.1 inches below
normal. Now, after the storm, they have 11.3 inches more than normal.
"The storm nearly doubled Boston's snowfall total for this season,"
said Eggleston. The snow season for the Northeast is from Oct. 1 to
May 31.
With this latest storm, Worcester, Mass., experienced its greatest
snowstorm ever as 33 inches pounded the city in a two-day period. The
previous heaviest snowstorm was Dec. 11-13, 1992, with 32.1 inches.
Also, this storm created Worcester's snowiest April. They have 24
inches of snow tallied as of April 3.
Like Boston, the snowiest April had been 1982. All 18 inches from this
storm fell on April 1, which means this will be the snowiest April ever
in Providence, with all of it coming on the first day of the month.
Providence also was experiencing a "snow deficit" prior to the Great
April Fools Day Storm of 1997. Up to March 30, Providence was 15.9
inches below normal snowfall, experiencing only 19.5 inches for the
season. After the storm, Providence moved from a deficit to a slight
surplus of snow -- 2.1 inches above normal.
Other locations in the Northeast have experienced a kinder, gentler
snow season. With only 10 inches this season, New York City has
received only 43 percent of its normal snowfall, and with 6.5 inches
recorded at National Airport, Va., that area just outside of
Washington, D.C., has received only 36 percent of its normal.
Charleston, W.Va., with 13.3. inches of snow, has experienced 38
percent of its normal snowfall totals this late in the season.
the Northeast (all values in inches)
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City Seasonal Snowfall Departure from Percent
Thru April 2, 1997 Normal of Normal
Syracuse, N.Y. 128.3 22.5 121%
Binghamton, N.Y. 91.9 17.5 124%
Rochester, N.Y. 103.4 15.1 117%
Caribou, Maine 118.3 13.5 113%
Concord, N.H. 75.4 12.8 120%
Boston 51.9 11.3 128%
Burlington, Vt. 85.9 9.8 113%
Erie, Pa. 93.5 9.3 111%
Buffalo, N.Y. 95.5 7.1 108%
Hartford, Conn. 52.3 6.2 113%
Providence, R.I. 37.5 2.1 106%
Albany, N.Y. 64.3 1.7 103%
Cleveland 55.1 1.2 102%
Baltimore 15.4 -6.5 70%
Newark, N.J. 16.3 -9.5 63%
Philadelphia 13.0 -9.7 57%
Williamsport, Pa. 31.1 -10.7 74%
Bridgeport, Conn. 14.7 -11.2 57%
National Airport, Va. 6.5 -11.7 36%
Ithaca, N.Y. 50.6 -12.5 80%
Pittsburgh 29.1 -12.8 69%
New York City 10.0 -13.0 43%
Richmond, Va. 1.7 -14.5 10%
Huntington, W.Va. 5.9 -18.9 24%
Charleston, W.Va. 13.3 -21.9 38%
Portland, Maine 42.7 -24.7 63%
Elkins, W.Va. 39.8 -29.6 57%
Seasonal Snowfall Deficits in the Northeast (all values in inches)
City Season Snowfall Seasonal 3/31-4/1 Seasonal
Thru 3/30/97 Snowfall Storm Snowfall
Departure Total Departure
After StormSyracuse, N.Y. 124.6 +18.8 3.7 +22.5
Boston 26.5 -14.1 25.4 +11.3
Hartford, Conn. 37.6 -8.5 14.7 +6.2
Providence, R.I. 19.5 -15.9 18.0 +2.1
Ithaca, N.Y. 43.8 -19.3 6.8 -12.5
<
Data compiled by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell
University.
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