WINTER STORM SUMMARY FOR
FEBRUARY 28, 2005 TO MARCH 1, 2005 EVENT

Synopsis

Low pressure developed in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, February 27th, 2005. Meanwhile, cold high pressure was anchored across southeastern Canada and New England. This high pressure system supplied cold, dry air across the region. As the Gulf of Mexico low pressure system moved northeastward Sunday and Sunday night, a large area of precipitation began to spread northward up the East Coast. As the storm intensified off the Southeast Coast Sunday night and Monday, moisture steadily lifted northward up the East Coast. Snow began to fall over Delaware and the eastern Maryland Shore Counties during the early to mid morning hours on Monday. Initially the air mass was dry therefore the snow farther to the north did not reach the ground. Gradually the air mass across the entire region did become saturated and snow developed from south to north across the entire area by early Monday afternoon. With the cold, dry air mass firmly entrenched across the majority of the region, temperatures fell a couple of degrees once the snow began. The snow continued Monday afternoon and Monday night at varying intensity. There were a few heavy bands of snow that moved through the region Monday afternoon and again Monday night. These bands produced snowfall rates of 1 to nearly 2 inches per hour, however the heavy snow was generally restricted to a short period of time. As the low pressure system continued to move northeastward Monday, some milder air arrived across southern Delaware and southeast New Jersey. This allowed the snow to change to some sleet and rain, which significantly limited snowfall accumulations. As the storm moved farther northeastward Monday night and early Tuesday morning, snow continued to fall across our region. However, the snow then gradually tapered off to some flurries or snow showers early Tuesday morning from southwest to northeast.

Watches/Warnings/Advisories

A Winter Storm Watch was issued for Monday and Monday night at 4:50 AM Sunday, February 27th. This watch included all counties, with the exception of Cape May (including coastal areas) and Coastal Atlantic in New Jersey, Sussex (including coastal areas) in Delaware, Talbot and Caroline in Maryland. At 4:15 PM Sunday, a Winter Storm Warning was issued for Monday and Monday night for nearly all counties, however a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for Cape May county in New Jersey and Inland Sussex in Delaware. At 9:30 PM, the Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories were updated and reissued with no changes made to the counties included. At 5:10 AM Monday, February 28th, a Winter Storm Warning remained in effect for most areas, however the following counties were now in a Winter Weather Advisory, Atlantic (including the coastal areas), Ocean (including the coastal areas), Cumberland, and Southeastern Burlington in New Jersey; Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne\'s, and Talbot in Maryland; Kent in Delaware. At 11:20 AM, the Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories were updated and reissued with no changes made to the counties included. At 3:21 PM Monday, February 28th there were some changes to the warning�s and advisories. Most of the region remained under a Winter Storm Warning, however the following counties were under a Winter Weather Advisory for Monday night, Eastern Monmouth, Ocean (including coastal areas), Cumberland, Southeastern Burlington, and Atlantic (including coastal areas) in New Jersey; Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne\'s, and Talbot in Maryland; Kent in Delaware. At 3:21 PM, the Winter Weather Advisory for Coastal Atlantic in New Jersey was discontinued. At 8:55 PM, all Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories remained the same. At 11:40 PM, the Winter Weather Advisory for the counties mentioned above was extended until 4 AM Tuesday, March 1st. At 12:20 AM Tuesday, March 1st, the Winter Storm Warnings remained in effect with no changes to the counties included. At 3:52 AM, the Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories were cancelled for southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Areas further to the south, the previous advisories were allowed to expire late Monday night. Central and northern areas, the warnings and advisories were continued. However at 6:20 AM, all warnings and advisories were cancelled, with the exception that the Winter Storm Warning remained in effect for Carbon and Monroe Counties in Pennsylvania, and Sussex County in New Jersey until 1 PM Tuesday. This warning was cancelled by late morning on Tuesday, March 1st.

Precipitation/Temperatures/Winds

This storm was nearly a true Nor\'easter as the storm developed in the Gulf of Mexico then moved up the East Coast, but far enough off the coast to keep the strongest winds confined closer to the coast. Snow overspread the region during Monday morning from south to north. Initially the snow was a little slow in developing as a dry layer of air caused the snow to evaporate before reaching the ground. Eventually the air mass became saturated and snow began falling across southern areas by mid morning. The snow then spread northward around midday, and it was snowing by early afternoon across the entire area. However, as the storm approached from the southeast Monday afternoon, enough milder air was able to move into southern Delaware and far southeastern New Jersey to allow the snow to mix with sleet and even change to some rain. Elsewhere, this storm was a snow event with some heavy amounts reported. Generally the snowfall associated with this storm ranged from, one-half inch across Sussex County Delaware, to 2 to 7 inches from central and northern Delaware, and northeast Maryland. There was also an inch or less along the southeastern New Jersey shore. Across inland southern New Jersey however, the snowfall amounts increased rapidly with totals ranging from 4 to 8 inches. Across central and northern New Jersey as well as eastern Pennsylvania, snowfall totals ranged from 6 to 12 inches. This included Philadelphia, which came in with 5.8 inches for a storm total. The snow was wet therefore it stuck to nearly every outdoor object. There were no reports received however regarding any power outages due to the wet snow. Temperature-wise, this storm had just enough cold air in place with the exception of far southeast New Jersey and central and southern Delaware to produce a significant snowfall. All other areas had temperatures that held nearly steady around freezing during the storm on Monday. During Monday night though, temperatures across most locations dropped into the upper 20s. The snow began during the day, and this coupled with the higher sun angle, allowed the snow to melt on the roads for most of the day. There were some bursts of heavier snow that occurred Monday, with snowfall rates around an inch per hour, and this caused some roads to turn slushy for a time. As the sun angle however decreased late in the afternoon, and once darkness set in, the roads became snow covered across most areas as the snow, which continued to fall, now accumulated on paved surfaces. Winds during the storm were brisk, generally from the northeast at 15 to 25 mph. However, onshore winds near and along the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware were sustained around 20 mph with gusts in the 40 to 45 mph range at times late Monday afternoon and into Monday night. As the storm moved a bit farther away later Monday night, winds turned rather light across most areas. The brisk winds did cause some blowing and drifting, especially in open areas.

Significant Impacts/Aspects

This winter storm, or Nor\'easter, initially had minor impacts across the region. As the snow fell during the daylight hours, many roads remained mostly wet with perhaps some slushy spots. The main impact during the day Monday was when the bursts of heavier snow moved across the region from south to north, greatly reducing the visibility and producing more of a slushy coating on the roads. Late Monday afternoon though, with the setting sun, the falling snow began to accumulate on all roads as the surfaces cooled. This caused the road conditions to quickly deteriorate from earlier on. During the daylight hours on Monday, mostly the bridges and overpasses were the only surfaces that were slippery due to a slushy snow accumulation. Roads were snow covered in most areas Monday night into early Tuesday as the snow continued to fall. There were many reports of vehicle accidents across the region Monday afternoon through Monday night. This storm was well advertised, therefore many schools either closed on Monday or had an early dismissal. As the snow continued for a good portion of Monday night, many schools had a 2-hour delay Tuesday morning, while some others closed for the day. As the storm passed by our region offshore, a strong onshore wind continued up and down the New Jersey and Delaware coast Monday and Monday night. This caused areas of minor coastal flooding at the times of high tide. This latest snowstorm of the winter of 2004-2005 was difficult from a forecasting standpoint. Computer models that forecasters use for guidance were all over the place with this storm. While we knew there would be a snowstorm, the exact track remained quite uncertain. This made forecasting snowfall amounts difficult as it all hinged on the exact track of the storm. While the computer models slowly came into better agreement, there were still several uncertainties that remained even as the storm was starting on Monday. Overall, the storm did track a bit farther to east Monday and Monday night, which kept the strongest winds confined closer to the coast. The storm also appeared not to intensify as quickly as earlier computer models were indicating. In conclusion, this winter storm gave the majority of the region a significant snowfall, and it reminded us that it is still winter.

Notes

Information contained in this summary is preliminary. More complete and/or detailed information may be contained in subsequent monthly NOAA storm data publications.