7 Years Ago: November Snow Blitz

Seven years ago today on November 15th, 2018, an early season snowstorm struck the Northeast and paralyzed traffic. Most of the Tri-State Area and Southern New England saw a general 6-10" of snow. A well forecast storm of this magnitude in the heart of winter is nothing new to folks here and wouldn't cause too many issues. However, a combination of factors including under forecast snowfall amounts, timing and the first snowstorm of the season caused a severe impact on roads and travel for the afternoon rush hour.

Forecasts one to two days prior for example were only about an inch in New York City, then raised right before the storm to 2-5". A quick burst of heavy snow put down over 6" in the city itself breaking a record for the earliest 6"+ snow event. On Long Island amounts were a bit lower in the 3-6" range but this was still much higher than forecast.

On the afternoon of Thursday, low pressure began deepening rapidly and rode right up the East Coast, hugging the shoreline. Normally this type of setup wouldn't give much snow right down to the coast but a perfectly positioned strong 1039mb high funneled unseasonably cold air in ahead of the storm. As the afternoon unfolded it was clear the cold air was winning out and the system was therefore more intense and colder than forecast.

Heavy snow came down at a rate of 1-2" per hour right in the heart of the afternoon rush hour. Traffic was at a stand still from in New Jersey, New York and through Connecticut. In Connecticut, hundreds of accidents were reported and typical 15-30 minute commutes took hours.

Snow quickly shut off from south to north and ended as a brief period of sleet and freezing rain. Some light snow, sleet and freezing rain swept through after midnight into the early morning hours and the storm was completely done before noon Friday.

For more images related to this event click here.

To see more storms from the past 30 years, check out our Winter Storm Archive.

-JDJ