January 2018 North American blizzard
The January 2018 North American Blizzard was a powerful blizzard that caused severe disruption along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. The storm dropped up to of snow in the Mid-Atlantic states, New England, and Atlantic Canada, while areas as far south as southern Georgia and far northern Florida had brief wintry precipitation, with 0.1 inches of snow measured officially in Tallahassee, Florida.
The storm originated on January 3 as an area of low pressure off the coast of the Southeast. Moving swiftly to the northeast, the storm explosively deepened while moving parallel to the Eastern Seaboard, causing significant snowfall accumulations. The storm received various unofficial names, such as Winter Storm Grayson, Blizzard of 2018 and Storm Brody. The storm was also dubbed a "historic bomb cyclone".
On January 3, blizzard warnings were issued for a large swath of the coast, ranging from Norfolk, Virginia all the way up to Maine. Several states, including North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts declared states of emergency due to the powerful storm. Hundreds of flights were canceled ahead of the blizzard. Overall, 22 people were confirmed to have been killed due to the storm, and at least 300,000 residents in the United States lost power in total.
Meteorological synopsis
Early on January 1, the Weather Prediction Center began to anticipate the possibility of a northward-tracking area of low pressure that would bring wintry precipitation to much of the East Coast of the United States in the first week of January, exacerbating an extended period of anomalously cold weather. Due to modeling confining of precipitation to relatively narrow bands at the time, initial forecasts on the storm's impacts were uncertain. The storm's development was forecast to originate from the eastward progression of a shortwave trough originating from the northern Rocky Mountains, strengthening due to the presence of a longwave trough situated over the Eastern United States. However, as the anticipated event drew closer, the system's genesis grew increasingly complex with the development of two separate disturbances in the jet stream over the upper Mississippi Valley and the eastern extent of the Rocky Mountains; these two would shape the eventual coverage of wintry precipitation associated with the storm. As the troughs pushed eastward, frontogenesis along the trough and a resulting increase in moisture allowed for freezing rain to commence over areas of northern Florida and southern Georgia early on January 3. Later that day, rapid cyclogenesis led to the formation of the forecast low-pressure area north of the Bahamas and east of Jacksonville, Florida, with cloud cover quickly expanding to the north and east ahead of the storm's center; consequently, the WPC began issuing regular storm summaries at 21:00 UTC on January 3.After forming, the extratropical cyclone continued to explosively deepen, tracking northward parallel to the United States East Coast. By the morning of January 4, the powerful storm system had deepened by 53 mbar in 21 hours—one of the fastest rates ever observed in the Western Atlantic—to a pressure of 952 mbar, with a coastal cold front focusing heavy snowfall and thundersnow along immediate coastal regions. The drop in pressure was over twice the threshold for bombogenesis. Onshore, the inland extent of wintry precipitation gradually increased as the storm intensified. As the day progressed, the development of several intense snowbands allowed for heavy snowfall rates of up to per hour over New England, which were enhanced further by the influx of warm low-level air due to the cyclone's circulation. The storm bottomed out at a pressure of 950 mbar when it was centered about southeast of Nantucket Island. The cyclone's intensity held steady as it moved north into the Bay of Fundy late on January 4. Afterwards, it began weakening and ultimately dissolved into a trough on January 6.
Preparations and impact
The blizzard produced snowfall and other forms of frozen precipitation across much of the United States Eastern Seaboard. As of the WPC's fifth winter storm summary, the highest official snowfall amount recorded is in Cape May Court House, New Jersey; however, a snowfall total of was reported Bathurst, New Brunswick. Freezing rain totals peaked at in Brunswick, Georgia and near Folkston, Georgia. At least twenty-two fatalities were attributed to the storm, including at least eight car accident-related deaths. At least 4,020 flights were cancelled across the United States, with a majority of cancellations caused by the extensive winter storm. Insurers estimate that claims relating to coastal flooding from the storm will be more than those from snow-related damage.Southeastern United States
Florida and Georgia
and Florida State University, announced closures for January 3. Governor of Georgia Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 28 counties. 1.2 inches of snowfall was recorded at Savannah, Georgia. while Tallahassee, Florida received 0.1 inches of snow officially. For this region it was the first snow fall since December 1989. Additionally, this is the first recorded measurable snowfall in Tallahassee during the month of January based on records dating back to April 1885.The snowfall forced the closure of Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport, cancelling 78 incoming and outgoing flights. Ice accumulation was reported as far south as northern Levy County, Florida. Widespread power outages affected much of the Southeast U.S. coast during the storm's infancy; nearly 100,000 electricity customers were without power in the Florida-Georgia border region, including over 6,000 in Glynn County, Georgia. Heavy icing downed trees and power lines throughout St. Simons Island, Georgia, causing extensive power outages. Power outages impacted Nassau County, Florida to a similar extent, prompting the opening of an emergency shelter in Hilliard, Florida.. Four Central Florida counties also opened cold weather shelters when temperatures fell below 45 F. Icy conditions forced numerous road closures, including an stretch of Interstate 10 between Tallahassee, Florida and Live Oak, Florida. All lanes of Interstate 75 in Hamilton County, Florida to facilitate de-icing.
barely visible from the 12th floor of an office building 2 blocks north during the peak of the storm due to near whiteout conditions.
The Carolinas
Snowfall in South Carolina peaked at in Summerville. Charleston recorded the third highest daily snowfall total in its history at and the highest total since 1989. The runways of Joint Base Charleston, used jointly with Charleston International Airport, were closed by the United States Air Force. A state of emergency was declared and a curfew enforced for much of Dorchester County. On January 4, the South Carolina National Guard was deployed to assist impacted areas and the South Carolina Highway Patrol and South Carolina Department of Transportation to recover vehicles. One person was killed in a traffic collision on Interstate 95 in Clarendon County due to icy road conditions following the storm's passage. Governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper activated the state's emergency operations center on January 3 and declared a state of emergency for 54 counties. Due to the inclement conditions, 66 North Carolina school districts issued cancellations, affecting thousands of students. Local snowfalls in excess of occurred across the eastern half of the state. Wilmington, North Carolina observed of snowfall, marking the city's highest total since 2011. Along the Outer Banks, gusts in excess of caused rough seas, resulting in coastal flooding. Water levels rose above normal in Buxton, North Carolina. Four people were killed in the state, including two each in Moore and Beaufort counties and one in Surf City. At the height of the storm, around 20,000 utility customers lost power in the state. Poor driving conditions resulted in around 900 vehicle crashes across North Carolina.Mid-Atlantic states
declared a state of emergency in the state on January 3. In Virginia Beach, the storm maintained gusts of for several hours. In one 24-hour period, 118 crashes occurred in the Hampton Roads area, with another 121 disabled vehicles reported. Across the entirety of the state, Virginia troopers responded to 245 vehicular collisions. Gusts in the Hampton Roads area peaked at in Tangier, with lesser gusts farther inland. Due to the local geography, water levels in Chesapeake Bay fell in response to the storm's circulation passing to the east; the Patapsco River near Fort McHenry fell below the mean low water level, reaching its lowest height since 1989. The United States Coast Guard restricted maritime access to the Port of Baltimore from the evening of January 3 into January 5.New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
New York City encountered 30 mph winds, and JFK Airport temporarily suspended flights due to whiteout conditions. Central Park reported of snow. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Westchester County, New York City, and Long Island.New Jersey experienced as much as of snow in some places, with Islip on Long Island, NY reaching of snow; however, tropical storm-force winds blew the snow into banks as high as in certain areas. In Connecticut, the National Weather Service office in Bridgeport recorded 9.0 inches of snow and wind gusts to 52 mph.
New England
Being the most geographically proximate to the storm's track, Massachusetts bore the highest impacts of all American states. Winds gusted to hurricane-force at on Nantucket and over on mainland Massachusetts.At least of snow fell on the Boston area, and fell in Providence, Rhode Island. In Boston, a storm tide of was recorded during the blizzard which flooded areas of the financial district, including a subway station. This beat the previous record set in 1978 by the Blizzard of 1978. Significant coastal flooding occurred in Maine and New Hampshire.