It was a storm to remember for many residents in the eastern United States. Many of these areas got plastered with as much as four feet of snow, that is, except North Conway and the northern reaches of New England. A stark contrast in snowfall totals forced the residents of North Conway to watch the storm pound our neighbors to the south with very heavy amounts of snowfall. Now in the record books, this storm became the first of the season to produce beneficial rains in the West, tornadoes in the south-central United States, and of course, the heavy snowfall in the East.
I am sure you remember the excruciating cold that has reigned supreme over North Conway during much of this month and the winter season. Many days showcased instances where the morning low temperature dipped downwards of 20 degrees below zero while the mercury barely surpassed 5 degrees by the afternoon. The reason for this chilling flashback is because the very same air mass, which originated in Siberia, was a major culprit towards the development, movement, and impact of this snowstorm.
It is important to realize that the Blizzard of 2003 was not spectacular in its intensity. In fact, the central pressure of this system consisted of a level commonly found in weak storms. However, the real story of the event developed when the storm tapped into a great amount of tropical moisture. Once this moisture collided with the record setting arctic air mass, a prolific snowmaker had set up. This Arctic air mass that was centered in southeastern Canada had also slowed down the system, which when combined with a high fluff factor, had produced a supreme winter storm. How slow was this blizzard? An average Nor'easter has a duration of 12 to 18 hours, but this event lasted upwards of 48 hours.
Likewise with the latest blockbuster event, the fluff factor in winter storms is key towards how much snow a region can receive. On average in New England, 10 inches of snowfall yields to one inch of rain (10 to 1 ratio). This ratio is usually higher away from the coastline, but lower towards a marine influenced environment. During the Blizzard of 2003, temperatures were mainly into the upper 10s and lowers 20s in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states. This resulted in an average fluff factor of 15 to 1, which in turn aided to produce greater amounts of snowfall then what is expected from a typical storm.
The Arctic air mass certainly helped a substantial area of the eastern United States have a healthy snowfall accumulation, but what about North Conway and our neighbors towards the north? I have to admit, I was going crazy knowing that areas hundreds of miles towards our south were receiving up to 48 inches of snowfall. Despite only receiving 4 inches of snow from the event, we can thank the large arctic air mass towards the north for blocking the system. North Conway's air was far too dry to support a great amount of precipitation. To the contrary, the southern reaches of our state recorded healthy amounts of snow. Even though North Conway missed out on the full impact of the Blizzard of 2003, evidence shows that we have plenty of potential opportunities that could provide a very healthy dose of new snowfall through early April.