What Year Was Snowmageddon: When you mix “snow” with “Armageddon,” “Apocalypse,” and “Godzilla,” you get Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, and Snowzilla. In January 2009, the Canadian press started using the words “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon.” Later, in January 2010, Charlie Brooker, a writer for The Guardian, used these words to describe how sensationalist T.V. news channels reported on a period of snowfall in the U.K.
Newspapers in Washington, D.C., including The Washington Post, asked their readers to take part in an online poll before the storm that hit North America on February 5 and 6, 2010. Bloggers, including the one at the Washington Post, used the words “Snowmageddon” and “Snowpocalypse” to talk about the storm.
The Washington Post created the phrase “Kaisersnoze” in response to the snowstorms in February. As the media kept calling it “Snowmageddon,” “Snowpocalypse,” or a mix of the two, the U.S. federal government shut down many of its offices the night before the country’s first snow hit Washington, D.C.
ON THIS DAY: Feb. 5, 2010, ‘Snowmageddon’ paralyzed Mid-Atlantic
The huge “Snowmageddon” event that happened in western Pennsylvania on February 5, 2010, left its mark. Pittsburgh International Airport officially got a record 21.9 inches of snow. In some places, the total was close to two feet, making for a wintry sight that people would remember for years.
Pittsburgh’s most famous and important snowstorms were the Blizzard of ’93 and Snowmageddon. The storm that happened in February 2010 had serious effects all over Mexico and the United States. This terrible disaster, in which more than 40 people died, will always be remembered horribly.
It has been very different from previous winters, with accounts of only 11 inches of snowfall. The mention of Snowmageddon is a good warning of how unpredictable weather can be and how big weather events can affect communities.
Fourteen years ago, Snowmageddon
Twelveteen years ago today, a huge snowstorm called Snowmageddon, Snowzilla, and Snowpocalypse destroyed the Washington, D.C., area. Beginning on this date and lasting for almost two weeks, this snowfall shut down the city completely.
It makes us think of the famous back-to-back blizzards that happened in February 2010 as we mark this important occasion. The area has had several winters with little or no snowfall since those two storms, and their effects are still felt today. We still remember Snowmageddon very well, so we decided to bring it up again with some reader-submitted photos that perfectly capture the spirit of the winter show (click here to see the collection).
As examples of how unpredictable the weather can be, these events serve as a warning of the long-term effects of bad conditions. The memories of those who lived through the thrills and hardships of that unprecedented winter and the records of past weather events carry on Snowmageddon’s impact.
Snowmageddon 2010: DC region’s unprecedented snowfall struck
Two days in February 2010, a strong Nor’easter hit Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, bringing record-high snowfall and storm conditions.
While it started to snow on the fifth, it got heavier in the evening and kept falling at a rate of one to two inches per hour until the sixth morning, when it stopped in the late afternoon.
Because of the heavy storm, all airports in the area had to close. The roads were also impassable. Unfortunately, over 200,000 homes and businesses in Washington, D.C. lost power. An extended period saw the closure of schools in the area, and the federal government was shut down for about a week. Concerning the widespread effects, states of emergency were announced in Virginia and Maryland.
On those two days in February 2010, pictures were taken of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia covered in record-breaking snowfall to catch the spirit of Snowmageddon, an epic winter storm.
Total snowfall during the storm was higher than records held at Dulles International Airport (32.4 inches), Baltimore Washington Thurgood International Airport (24.8 inches), and Reagan National Airport (17.8 inches).
What year was Snowmageddon in GA?
In January 2014, a terrible storm hit the metro Atlanta area, shocking both people and security officials. The surprise severity of the storm caught a lot of people off guard and caused a lot of problems and delays.
The storm would have a big effect on a lot of places as it moved across the area. Due to heavy weather and freezing temperatures, the roads became very dangerous, making commuting incredibly difficult or impossible. Residents had a harder time because the storm was stronger than expected, which put a strain on the city’s emergency response systems and facilities.
The sudden change caused problems for companies, schools, and government offices, leading to closures and problems with business operations. The storm’s crippling effects made it clear how important it is to plan and be ready in places that don’t usually get such violent weather.
Hurricane Irma’s damage to Atlanta in 2014 is a stark warning of how vulnerable cities are to unplanned weather disasters and how important it is to have thorough emergency plans in place to protect people.
What year was Snowmageddon in Virginia?
Washington, D.C.’s continuous attack by Snowmageddon on February 9–10, 2010, was a turning point in the area’s weather history. The storm started on February 5, when it snowed quickly and reached a record-breaking 31 inches at Dulles Airport.
Once the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) snowplows started working hard to clear the roads of snow, a new problem came up. Heavy weather made things even harder, and on February 9, a blizzard hit the area.
An onslaught of snow and blizzard conditions made the area impassable, which caused a big problem for people, companies, and government agencies alike. Both of Snowmageddon’s effects showed how important it is to plan and be ready for harsh weather. They also tested how long local emergency response systems and infrastructure would last.
Whatever happened on February 9th and 10th, 2010, shows how random winter storms can be and how much trouble they can cause, especially when they happen quickly, one after the other. This event changed people’s memories of Snowmageddon forever, and it led to later arguments about how sensitive and adaptable towns are to extreme weather.
What year was DC Snowmageddon?
2010
The first “Snowmageddon” or “Snowpocalypse” snowstorm, as it was dubbed in social media, dumped over 20 inches of snow in many areas from southern Pennsylvania, northeastern West Virginia and Maryland into northern Virginia, Delaware and southern New Jersey Feb. 5-6, 2010.
Strong Nor’easters hit Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia on February 5 and 6, 2010, bringing record-breaking weather and blizzard conditions.
It started snowing in the late afternoon of the fifth, got heavier in the evening, and kept falling all the way through the morning of the sixth at a rate of about one to two inches per hour until the late afternoon.
Because the storm was so bad, all airports in the area had to close, and highways were inaccessible. An outage affected more than 200,000 homes and businesses in the District of Columbia. An extended amount of time saw schools across the region close, and the federal government was shut down for almost a week. Authorities in Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency.
About 20 to 30 inches of snow fell across most of the region, and some places got more than three feet by the end of the storm.
What year was Snowmageddon in Idaho?
2017
Where does Snowmageddon 2024 stack up historically? Winter 2017 is remembered infamously as Boise’s original Snowmageddon, with a snow depth of 15 inches measured at the Boise Airport during the event’s peak.
Big changes happened in the Treasure Valley four years ago because of Snowmageddon, a now-famous winter event.
To share your Snowmageddon pictures and videos, please use the KTVB app’s “Near Me” feature.
It snowed a total of 39.1 inches in Boise during the 2016–2017 winter, with 21 inches hitting in January 2017.
Such bad weather happened that many cities, including Boise and Meridian, declared states of emergency and called in the Idaho National Guard to help clear the snow.
As spring progressed, buildings in Ontario, Oregon, collapsed due to heavy snowfall, causing floods along the Boise River.
Every resident has a unique story to tell about the record-breaking weather. Others, like Dorothy Davidson and her daughter, who loved playing in the snow for the first time, had good memories of the unusual winter. Using the KTVB app’s “Near Me” feature, Dorothy sent a picture of this wonderful event.
When was the biggest snowstorm in the world?
The 1972 Iran blizzard, which caused 4,000 reported deaths, was the deadliest blizzard in recorded history. Dropping as much as 26 feet (7.9 m) of snow, it completely covered 200 villages. After a snowfall lasting nearly a week, an area the size of Wisconsin was entirely buried in snow.
The Great White Hurricane, or Blizzard of 1888, was a one-of-a-kind and spectacular event in the history of Northeast snowstorms, according to meteorologists Paul Kocin and Louis Uccellini. Multiple things make this weather different from the others.
Usually, strong winter storms in the Northeast come before an outbreak of cold air in the eastern United States, especially over northern New England or southern Canada. There wasn’t a similar mass of cold air before the 1988 Blizzard, so it didn’t follow this trend.
The unexpected behavior of the storm center was another oddity. The low-pressure center stayed put and shaped a counterclockwise loop off the coast of southern New England, which is not the usual southwest-northeast movement. An odd movement happened when the central pressure was around 980 mb, and the intensity was still very high. This time, the storm got stronger instead of going away, and it kept moving out to sea.
Around 1 a.m., the Blizzard of 1888 changed from rain to snow, shutting down New York City. There is a Monday on March 12. By 8 a.m., the weather had quickly turned into a blizzard, with winds touching 50 mph. The city stopped working completely because of falling snow, visibility issues, and contact problems. Along with the paralysis caused by the closed elevated rail line and the lack of subways at the time, disasters like a train derailing that killed several people happened all the time.
When was Birmingham Snowmageddon?
NWS OVERVIEW. The following is a recap of what happened on Jan. 28, 2014 from the National Weather Service in Birmingham: “The Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast States were impacted by a rather significant winter storm during the period of January 28-30, 2014.
After hitting the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast states, a big winter storm made landing in central Alabama on January 28, 2014. The National Weather Service in Birmingham has reported the storm’s actions.
The previous day, January 26, 2014, temperatures in the northern parts of Central Alabama were close to sixty degrees. In the Montgomery region, they were much higher, reaching the mid-60s. The estimates had trouble with these very warm conditions, especially since the ground and roads were warmer.
Pointed out the big difference between the relatively mild weather on Sunday and the winter weather that followed. It also talked about how the warmer ground and road temperatures made it harder to predict when snow would fall and how complicated the incident was. It started to snow and freeze in central Alabama on Tuesday, January 28, as the storm grew.
What is the snowiest place on earth?
Aomori City
The snowiest city on Earth is probably not where you think it is. It’s actually in Aomori City in Japan. Here they received around 26 feet of snow every year! It also snows where you would least expect it to.
Japanese city Aomori gets 236 inches of snow a year on average, making it one of the snowiest places in the world. Winter lovers can enjoy stunning scenery and fun activities like the Hakkoda Ski Area in this winter wonderland.
With an average of 280 inches of snowfall each winter, Mount Washington in New Hampshire is a popular place for thrill-seekers to go skiing, snowboarding, and climbing even when the weather is bad.
With 429 inches of snowfall a year on average, Chamonix, France, is a skier and snowboarder’s dream. With many resorts catering to winter sports fans, the area has great facilities for winter sports and stunning views of the winter scenery.
East Coasters are used to big snowstorms, but they needed more time to be ready for how this double blow would affect them. Concerning how bad things were, states of emergency were declared in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia in less than a week. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power, which meant that emergency shelters had to be set up for those who didn’t have heat, and travel was severely hampered across the region.
WTOP radio reported on February 9 that road salt was being limited, with D.C. The snowplows were not working. Newspaper writer Robert Thomson of the Washington Post wrote on February 9 that the problem was very serious: “We are in the midst of a natural disaster, and no element of the D.C. transit network is operating at peak efficiency.”
Since the sidewalks were unusable, people had to walk in the middle of the road because snowdrifts built up in the middle lanes and sometimes spilled into the left lane. All of these problems clearly showed the difficulties in the area during this harsh winter storm season.
