TEXT
Weather Journal: Boxing Day Blizzard in the Making
By Eric Holthaus
Post-Christmas travelers can expect a belated coal in their stockings Sunday: All the bits and pieces are in place for a major winter storm across the East Coast, with a blizzard warning for New York City, Boston and much of coastal New England, where the heaviest snow is expected to occur. Greater New York could rack up truly impressive snow totals — up to 18 inches! — before this storm is finished Monday.
Beyond heavy snow, a blizzard warning means that we should expect winds of more than 35 mph and visibility of a quarter mile or less over the next 36 hours — factors that are likely to spell trouble for air travelers. Expect holiday travel to be delayed across the country as major hubs of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston become snowed in one by one on Sunday and Monday.
Many locations outside the blizzard zone, from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Maine, should see significant snow as well. Philadelphia Eagles fans with tickets to Sunday night’s contest should know what they’re in for: field conditions for the game against the Vikings could very well look like something out of the North Pole. In short, hold on to your hats (and your children), this could be one wild sleigh ride.
In fact, the snow storm may be so intense that “thundersnow” — that rarest of meteorological holy grails — could occur off and on throughout Sunday over Manhattan, as the peak of the storm moves through. Keep an ear to the window to listen for the telltale rumbles of thunder.
The last time a storm of this magnitude hit the region was the “Snowicane” on February 26, 2010,, when New York City schools were closed for a rare snow day and winds of up to 91 mph lashed the East Coast. What will the weather historians call this storm? Stay tuned to the Weather Journal as we provide continuing coverage of the Boxing Day Blizzard of 2010. You can also stay up to date with the latest forecasted snow total map from the National Weather Service.
SOURCE : http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/12/25/weather-journal-boxing-day-blizzard-in-the-making/
IMAGE
No comments:
Post a Comment