2024-02-14 16:49:44
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- Winter Storm Lorraine spread snow and wind to the Northeast.
- Lorraine also brought snow to the Rockies and Plains.
- More than a foot of snow fell from northeast Pennsylvania to Connecticut.
Winter Storm Lorraine was a quick-moving storm in mid-February that dumped snow from Colorado and New Mexico to New England and surprised many along the way.
On the heels of a heavy rainmaker from the mid-South to the Tennessee Valley, Lorraine began to spin in the Southern Rockies and Southern High Plains during the followingnoon of February 10. Snow swirled across southern Arizonamuch of New Mexico and the I-25 corridor of Colorado in the first half of the day, then spread into the panhandles later in the day.
Snow came down heavily at times across the Texas panhandle, which caused at least one 18-wheeler to overturn and major traffic delays. Up to six inches of snow fell around Amarillo, Texas.
Lorraine was a surprise snowstorm from Oklahoma to the Northeast, and it started with a doozy across the Sooner State.
With temperatures in the 40s and 50s and meager model support, little to no snow was expected just days before the first flakes. Computer models began to flip the night before it began snowing. In the end, over 8 inches fell in southwestern Oklahoma and heavy snow fell in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Warmer ground temps kept much of the snow from accumulating and it melted rather quickly the following day, except for where 6+ inches fell.
On Monday, Feb. 12, Lorraine swept through the mid-South with snow falling in the Ozarks and Ohio Valley. A few pockets of 4-6 inches of snow fell in southwestern Missouri. Nashville, Tennessee even saw some thundersnow during the evening. Despite large, heavy flakes, the snow across the Tennessee Valley only amounted to an inch or less for most.
Rain arrived early in the morning on Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic, quickly followed by a changeover to snow north of New York City. Cities and towns from Boston to New York closed schools or moved to online learning. Those with classes online included the more than 9,000,000 students in New York City Public School, the nation’s largest school district.
Lorraine Impacts: News As It Happened Across the Northeast
The snow was expected in the Northeast, but the forecast drastically changed in the last 48 hours leading up to the event. Originally, the heaviest snow was expected in the interior Northeast south to eastern Pennsylvania, but the heaviest snow fell from southern New England into the Tri-State and northeast Pennsylvania. Snowfall rates topped 1 inch per hour and some thundersnow was reported there.
(MORE: Why The Big Forecast Change)
Interstate-81 northbound was partially closed in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, early Tuesday due to multiple crashes in snowy conditions.
Snow fell as far south as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. At one point, snow was falling in most of the major cities of the Northeast.
Snapshot of the radar from Feb. 13, 2024
New York City’s snowfall – which topped three inches at all of the city’s reporting sites – topped the amount seen in all of 2023’s winter season. About 1,200 flights to or from airports in the path of the storm were canceled, with regarding half of those coming from the New York City airports.
Power outages topped 150,000 customers from West Virginia to Massachusetts at one point or another due to heavy snow and gusty coastal winds.
Other notable totals include Hartford, Connecticut at 15.7 inches; Allentown, Pennsylvania at 9.1 inches; Providence at 6.1 inches and Washington-Dulles at 0.6 inches
The last flakes of Winter Storm Lorraine fell in southeastern New England during the followingnoon as the storm intensified off the Northeast coast. Winds gusted to 54 mph on Nantucket Island.
Municipal workers clear snow following Winter Storm Lorraine, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Hartford, Connecticut. (Anibal Martel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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