Review: January 27-28, 2004 snowstorm

The winter of 2003/2004 was a decent winter, however on Nantucket, it turned out to be above average. This snowstorm affected New Jersey and the rest of the mid atlantic on the 27th, and affected Nantucket on the 28th. Snowfall was relatively light with this storm. The storm’s onset was a little bit after 2 AM. All through the daylight hours, the snow accumulated, eventually, six and a half inches were recorded with this storm. The town of Nantucket’s DPW worked well with snow removal during the storm.

The snow came to an end well after dark. The snow was of a light,powdery composition. During the beginning of the storm, it was of concern that the snow would be heavy and wet; this was not the case. School was canceled for the day, and most students were ecstatic. The temps were in the low 20’s during the event.

Stats:

Accumulation: 6.5″ Forecast: 5″

Wind: 20 mph

Damage: none

Peak of storm

Review: March 19,2004 moderate snowstorm

Just a mere two days after the 16-17th storm, this one seemed to be a redemption from Mother Nature. On the 18th of March, Nantucket had just begun to dig out of the 16th storm. Ocean Effect Snow showers developed on Thursday(the 18th), and continued into the afternoon hours. After sunset, the band of snow dissipated. This small band of snow left an inch of new accumulation.

Over the course of the night, a low pressure system moved into the Ohio Valley, and met with the northern jet stream. The Low moved off the coast early on the 19th, and experienced a slight bombogenesis. Snow began to fall early on the 19th. All that morning the snow grew in intensity, and also began to drop a few quick inches. Also that morning, high tide was around 11 AM; this as well as the combination of the northeast winds led to some minor coastal flooding, however this was confined to the Creeks.

Over the course of the afternoon, The Low continued to pull away from the coast, and the snow began to slack off just a bit. All snow came to an end by 6 PM that evening. The maximum wind of this system, was 41 mph. An unofficial wind gust from this storm system, was 50 mph. The next day, the temperature rose to 39 degrees, creating a fast melt. A warm frontal passage during the evening of the 20th, melted any remaining snowfall. As a fun side note, I went sledding wearing a T-shirt and jeans at Dead Horse Valley.

Stats:

Accumulation: 7.5″ Forecast:3″

Winds: 40 mph Unofficial:50 mph

Damage: none

Storm during peak