Major Winter Snow Storm Development: A Comparison of Two Case Studies

摘要

The Storm of the Century is a prime example of a major East Coast winter storm.This storm devastated the East Coast from 12-15 March 1993, dumping record amounts of snowfall as well as setting record low pressure readings all along the coast. In addition, gale force winds, large tidal surges, and extremely low temperatures accompanied the storm. In this investigation, the Storm of the Century was studied as the prototypical example of a major explosively developing cyclone. The conditions during a less severe ice and snowstorm which occurred from 1-5 March 1994 were compared with those of the Storm of the Century. The 1994 storm showed similar development and followed a track similar to that of the 1993 storm. These two storms were compared and contrasted at different levels of atmosphere to determine why one storm developed to produce historically significant weather conditions while another achieved conditions considered to be typical for winter along the East Coast of the United States. A larger cold air surge was primarily responsible for the greater intensity of the Storm of the Century over the 1994 ice and snow storm. Additionally, temperature and moisture advection played a role in the deepening of the 1993 storm at an earlier stage in the cyclone's development.