February 23-25,1989 Snowstorm

This was perhaps the biggest  storm during the 1988/1989 winter. The days leading up to it were above freezing, and many wondered if it was going to actually be a worthwhile storm. On the 22nd, a storm center formed off of the Carolinas, and rapidly moved northeastward. Rain initated early in the morning hours of the 22nd. This was an older storm, and may have been connected to the developing center.

The rain switched to snow after 4 PM. A lull occurred during the early evening hours. The lull continued until early morning, when the snow came back in full force. By 10 AM, there were two inches, and it was still coming down. The snow grew heavy in the early afternoon hours, and it made streets all but impassable. Even in the dinner hours, restaurants that normally were open for business on Friday night were closed, simply because of the amount of snowfall. The storm reached its official peak gust in the late evening hours.

At my parents apartment, located on Old South Road, the parking lot was snowed in, you could not physically go anywhere. The center passsed off to the southeast of the island. Sledding on Saturday was a possibility, but few would go out, the winds were still in the upper 40’s with a few gusts to 50. My grandparents house on Chicken Hill, fared a little better, on the 25th they had a freak gust of 68 mph. The snow came to an end by noon on the 25th. By the end of the day, the sun was back out. A total of 14″ was recorded on Nantucket.

Sledding commenced after the snow stopped, and it lasted well into Sunday. There was some melting, as the temperature was 37 degrees. By nightfall, rain commenced. The snowpack didn’t pay too dearly, and on Monday, the rain turned to ice, putting a nice glaze on objects. This was one of the good highlights of the winter. The gradient of the snowfall was amazing with this storm. On the Cape and Islands, 12-16″ fell. Off the cape, it was anywhere from 6-12″, and in Worcester County, almost nothing fell.

Stats:

Accumulation: 14″ Forecast: 6″

Winds: 50 mph Unofficial: 62 mph

Damage: Some coastal flooding along the southern waterfront. The creeks turned into a lake.