Snowfall of February 15-17, 2003

Not enough wind to call this a blizzard, but it is was snowing!

We ended up with 19.75 inches and a water content of 2.75 inches.
If that had all been snow it may have been 27 inches or more!

See after pictures

Some before and during pictures:

Feb 15 at 1530 Feb 17 at 1000

I use this little stool to measure
the snow depth.

Feb 15 at 1530  Feb 17 at 1000
 
Measuring the total ground snow. The snow compresses so not as much the actual fallen amount.

 Will it reach 17.5 inches
and disappear?
It did. Feb 17 1000
with a longer ruler. 20 inches on
the ground.

We started with 5 inches so "only"
15 inches more
On Feb 16 at 2200 the
precipitation turned
to ice pellets
or possibly freezing rain.

Feb 17 at 1000 on
 top of the car. 15 inches. It had snowed
2.75 inches on Feb 14 . So 17.75 total
after packing down a little

 

  
Date Time Snow
 amount		 Storm
Total 		Rain
Equivalent		 Ground
Depth		 Temp
Feb 14 2300 0 0 0 5.00 31
Feb 15 2300 2.75 2.75 0.31 7.75 25
Feb 16 0700 +5.75 8.5 - 13 13
Feb 16 0900 +1.5 10.0 - 14.0 13
Feb 16 1230 +2.0 12.0 - 15.0 14
Feb 16 1500 +1.75 13.75   17.0 13
Feb 16 1615 +0.75 14.5      
Feb 16 2145 +2.5 17.0 1.67 19.25 16
Feb 17 1000 +2.0 19.0 0.77 20.00 20
Feb 18 1000 +.75 19.75   18.00 25
Forecast at Feb 16 - 1300

This Afternoon: Snow...Heavy at Times. Thunder is possible. Accumulation 5 to 10 inches. Breezy with blowing and drifting snow. Temperatures steady in the upper teens. Northeast winds around 20 mph.
 Tonight: Snow...Heavy at Times. Thunder is possible. Accumulation 5 to 10 inches. Breezy with blowing and drifting snow. Temperatures steady in the upper teens. Northeast winds around 20 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
 Washingtons Birthday: Snow...Tapering to snow showers late. Total accumulation 1 to 2 feet. Breezy with blowing and drifting snow. Highs in the upper 20s. North winds 15 to 25 mph.
 Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow showers early. Lows in the mid 20s. North winds 15 mph becoming light late. Chance of snow 30 percent.
 Tuesday: Partly cloudy and milder. Highs near 40.
 Tuesday Night: Clear. Lows 20 to 25.
 Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs 40 to 50.
 Thursday: Partly cloudy. Lows 25 to 35 and highs 45 to 50.
 Friday: Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Breezy. Lows 30 to 40 and highs 45 to 55.
 Saturday: Cloudy with a chance of rain until midnight...Then partly cloudy. Windy. Lows in the mid 30s and highs near 50.
 
 

Issued at: 1240 PM EST SUN FEB 16 2003
This hazardous weather outlook is for Maryland west of the chesapeake bay and east of garrett county...The district of columbia...Northern virginia...The northern and central shenandoah valley...And the eastern panhandle of west virginia.

.Day one...This afternoon and tonight. A major winter storm will continue to affect the entire area through Monday. Snowfall totals through Monday morning will be 14 to 18 inches from lower southern Maryland to fredericksburg to near charlottseville where sleet is expected to mix in for a period there tonight...Slightly reducing accumulations. Elsewhere...18 to 24 inches of snow is expected over the remainder of the area with up to 3 feet possible along the eastern slopes of the mountains.

Temperature will remain very cold in the mid to upper teens today...Falling into the lower teens tonight. Wind chill readings will be near zero this afternoon and tonight.

Winds will be northeast at 10 to 20 mph this afternoon and tonight creating blowing and drifting of snow in unsheltered regions.

If these accumulations actually occur this storm would rank in the top five of all storms in snowfall recorded in the last century. .Days two through seven... Snow will continue moderate to heavy during the morning then taper off Monday afternoon to scattered snow showers. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph will become north in the afternoon. Continued blowing and drifting of snow is possible. Wind chill readings will be zero to 10 above with actual air temperatures on Monday in the 20s. Additional hazardous weather is not expected Tuesday through Saturday.

.Spotter information statement... Skywarn is activated at This time.
 

Winter Storm Warning
 
Issued at: 610 PM EST SUN FEB 16 2003
 
...Winter storm warning continues through Monday morning...

Snow and sleet will be heavy at Times through Monday morning. Overnight...An additional 5 to 10 inches of snow and sleet will fall. On Monday morning...The snow and sleet will taper off to snow showers during the afternoon. By Monday evening...Total accumulations of 16 to 24 inches are expected.

This snow will be accompanied by strong north winds...And this will cause very cold wind chill values of between 5 above and 5 below zero...Along with considerable blowing and drifting of snow.

Travel will be next to impossible across the area. Postpone any travel that is not absolutely necessary. By staying off the roadways...Highway crews are better able to keep roads passable so emergency vehicles May still travel. If you absolutely must travel keep an extra flashlight...Blanket...Food and water in your vehicle in case of emergency.

Stay tuned to NOAA weather radio or your local media for the latest information on this very dangerous...Major winter weather event.

 
 

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