WINTER STORM SUMMARY FOR
NOVEMBER 07, 2012 TO NOVEMBER 8, 2012 EVENT

Synopsis

An early season Nor'easter delivered snow, rain, and gusty winds to the Mid Atlantic region from Wednesday November 7 through the early morning of Thursday November 8, 2012. This storm affected the region only a week after the historic Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy brought significant storm surge to coastal New Jersey along with high winds and heavy rain from the coast inland to Eastern Pennsylvania and southward through the Delmarva. The Nor'easter affected many of the same areas near the Mid Atlantic to Northeast Coast. Low pressure initially organized over the Southeastern States and emerged off of the Carolina coast late Tuesday November 6. This area of low pressure then intensified and tracked northeast near the coast through the morning of November 7. By afternoon, the center of the strong low pressure was a couple hundred miles off of the New Jersey coast. Many locations from the New Jersey coast westward to the Delaware Valley initially reported rain for a few hours from late morning through early afternoon, but as temperatures fell later in the day and into the evening, rain mixed with or changed over to snow across much of New Jersey. In addition, a few bands of heavy snow developed in eastern to central New Jersey with significant accumulations during the late evening of the 7th to early morning of the 8th. As the center of low pressure slowly pushed northeast and away from the New Jersey coast, precipitation gradually ended from southwest to northeast across the region before daybreak on Thursday November 8.

Watches/Warnings/Advisories

A Winter Weather Advisory was issued at 410 pm November 6 for the following areas: New Castle in Delaware; Cecil and Kent in Maryland; Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Western Monmouth, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, Camden, and Northwestern Burlington in New Jersey; Carbon, Monroe, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. A Winter Storm Warning was issued at 340 am November 7 for the following areas: New Castle in Delaware; Salem, Gloucester, Camden, and Northwestern Burlington in New Jersey; Delaware and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Also at 340 am November 7, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the following areas: Ocean, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Southeastern Burlington in New Jersey. At 335 pm November 7 the Winter Storm Warning was downgraded to a Winter Weather Advisory for the following areas: New Castle in Delaware; Salem, Gloucester, Camden, and Northwestern Burlington in New Jersey; Delaware and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Also at 335 pm November 7, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for Cape May in New Jersey, and the Winter Weather Advisory for Carbon and Monroe in Pennsylvania was cancelled. At 704 pm November 7, the Winter Weather Advisory was cancelled for the following areas: Cecil and Kent in Maryland; Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton in Pennsylvania. Also at 704 pm November 7 a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the following areas: Eastern Monmouth, Coastal Atlantic, and Coastal Ocean in New Jersey. At 832 pm November 7, the Winter Weather Advisory was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning for the following areas in New Jersey: Middlesex, Western Monmouth, Eastern Monmouth, Ocean, and Coastal Ocean. As low pressure slowly moved away from the coast and accumulating snow gradually ended from southwest to northeast across the region, all Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings were cancelled during the early morning of November 8.

Precipitation/Temperatures/Winds

Precipitation initially fell as rain across southern New Jersey, the northern Delmarva, and the lower Delaware Valley as low pressure advanced north off of the Mid Atlantic coast during the morning of November 7, with temperatures holding in the lower 40s through the first part of the day. By afternoon, temperatures were slowly falling into the 30s, with areas across southern New Jersey in Atlantic, Cumberland, and Salem counties reporting rain mixing with or changing to snow. Accumulations ranging from 1 to 4 inches were noted in these areas. Rain also mixed with or changed over to snow for a time farther west and south, with a trace of snow reported at the Allentown, Philadelphia, and Wilmington airports. By the night of the 7th, a few heavier bands of snow developed across eastern to central sections of New Jersey as low pressure continued to slowly spin off of the coast. Over the course of a few hours from the late evening of the 7th into the early morning of the 8th, these heavy bands dumped localized amounts of 6 to 12 inches of snow extending from parts of Mercer and Middlesex counties into eastern sections of Monmouth and Ocean counties. Elsewhere with light to occasional moderate snow reported through the night of the 7th, locations from Sussex and Morris counties in northwest New Jersey to Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in southern New Jersey reported a general 2 to 4 inches accumulation. Snowfall amounts in the 2 to 4 inch range were also recorded in lower Bucks county Pennsylvania. As temperatures held in the 30s through the duration of the event, a heavy, wet snow fell. Where the higher snowfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches occurred, power outages and numerous downed trees resulted. Winds throughout the event were generally out of a north to northeasterly direction ranging between 15 to 25 mph, with some gusts around 35 mph.

Significant Impacts/Aspects

Impacts from this early November Nor'easter were notable and hampered recovery efforts from Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy, which had just swept through the Mid Atlantic region during the last week of October from the 28th through the 30th. Hardest hit were portions of Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, and Mercer counties where localized accumulations of 6 to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow resulted in numerous downed trees and power lines. Over 100,000 new power outages resulted. In some locations, electricity had just recently been restored only a day or two earlier from previous outages caused by Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy. Meanwhile, other communities in these counties had yet to have power restored from outages caused by Sandy, leaving residents without electricity or heat during the November Nor'easter. For many communities in eastern Monmouth and Ocean counties, which sustained considerable damage from Sandy, the heavy, wet snow accumulated on piles of debris yet to be cleared away. Downed trees and power lines resulted in road closures and detours in Monmouth and Ocean counties, with only essential personnel driving being permitted in Jackson Township the day following the Nor'easter. Air travel across the Mid Atlantic region was also affected by this early season Nor'easter, with dozens of flights being cancelled or delayed at the Philadelphia International Airport and other major airports in the New York vicinity.

Notes

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