trysail
Catch Me Who Can
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The 20th Anniversary of Massachusett's April Fool's Day Nor'easter
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Aprilfoolsdayblizzardtotalmap.jpg
by Ric Werme
...This year’s March 31 – April 1 snowstorm from north of Boston into all of northern New England brings back memories from twenty years ago of the incredible “April Fool’s” nor’easter of 1997. This occurred when a rapidly deepening low formed off the New Jersey coast responding to a late season trough in the upper atmosphere. The storm then stalled just south of Martha’s Vineyard for about 12 hours producing snowfall rates as much as 3 inches per hour overnight, March 31 into April 1st. This storm still stands as the greatest 24 hour snowfall (29 inches, 74 cm) on record at Blue Hill Observatory.
Forever known as the “April Fool’s” snowstorm, the March 31- April 1 nor’easter produced 1 to 3-foot (30 to 90 cm) snowfall totals over a wide area. Boston recorded its heaviest April snowfall on record with 25 inches (64 cm), and its third-heaviest for any month. This amount roughly equaled what had fallen for the entire winter season that year in Boston. Several hundred thousand customers were without electricity during and after the storm due to the heavy/wet nature of the snow. Damage to trees in the area was extensive. High winds were also a problem with gusts in the 50 to 70 mile per hour (20 to 30 meters per second) range common along the coast. In Boston Harbor, the tip of one of the masts of the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) was sheared off by the winds. Blue Hill Observatory reported a wind gust of 72 mph (32 m/s)...
Forever known as the “April Fool’s” snowstorm, the March 31- April 1 nor’easter produced 1 to 3-foot (30 to 90 cm) snowfall totals over a wide area. Boston recorded its heaviest April snowfall on record with 25 inches (64 cm), and its third-heaviest for any month. This amount roughly equaled what had fallen for the entire winter season that year in Boston. Several hundred thousand customers were without electricity during and after the storm due to the heavy/wet nature of the snow. Damage to trees in the area was extensive. High winds were also a problem with gusts in the 50 to 70 mile per hour (20 to 30 meters per second) range common along the coast. In Boston Harbor, the tip of one of the masts of the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) was sheared off by the winds. Blue Hill Observatory reported a wind gust of 72 mph (32 m/s)...
