Final Snow Totals and Post-Blizzard Recap

Ok so that was a wild storm! Here, in Belleville, NJ, we received 24.8" of snow! That would make it one of the top 5 snowstorms for our area! Elsewhere we have seen snow totals around the same depth.

Elizabeth: 31.8"
Lyndhurst: 29.0"
Clifton: 25.0"
Bloomfield: 24.5"
Newark Airport: 24.2"

Union County appears to have gotten the worst of this storm, with many towns reporting snowfall amounts of 30"+.

This storm wasn't just about the snowfall.  The wind was also a major factor.  As we all know, it's the wind that separates a blizzard from a major snowstorm.  The definition of a blizzard courtesy of the NWS:
 A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer: 

• Sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35 miles an hour or greater; and
• Considerable falling and/or blowing snow (i.e., reducing visibility frequently to less than ¼ mile)

Wind gusts were reported at Newark Airport as high as 51 mph.  In Long Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties reported wind gusts as high as 68 mph!  Power has been knocked out to 1,300 PSE&G customers in NJ as a result of downed power-lines.

This storm has completely disrupted travel plans across the area.  All three major airports have been and remain closed.  Newark and JFK Airports will reopen at 6 pm, while LaGuardia Airport has yet to announce a time to reopen.  Trains have been suspended as well until the tracks can be cleared.  If you are traveling by car, many roadways were closed for cleanup this morning but have been reopened since.  I suggest if you don't need to be on the road than stay off the roads.

I leave you now with a cool time lapse video of the Holiday Blizzard 2010.  This was taken by Michael Black from Belmar, NJ, where they reported 32" of snow.   Holiday Blizzard 2010 Time Lapse