North American blizzard of 2005

Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI/NOAA: 10.34)
Satellite image of the blizzard making its way across the Atlantic states.
Type	Extratropical cyclone Blizzard Winter storm
Formed	January 20, 2005
Dissipated	January 23, 2005
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	38.0 in Salem, Massachusetts
Fatalities	At least 12 (including 3 Firefighters from NYC.)
Damage	Unknown
Areas affected	Upper Midwest, Great Lakes Region, Northeastern United States, British Isles, Scandinavian Peninsula

Abandoned cars line Route 6A in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, one of the harder hit areas, receiving as much as 30.5 inches (77.5 cm) of snow during the blizzard.

The North American blizzard of 2005 was a three-day storm that affected large areas of the northern United States, dropping more than 3 feet (0.9 m) of snow in parts of southeastern Massachusetts, as well as much of the Boston metropolitan area. While this was by far the hardest hit region, it was also a significant snowstorm for the Philadelphia and New York City areas, which both suffered occasional blizzard conditions and 12–15 in (30–38 cm) snow accumulations.

The storm began dropping snow on the upper Midwest on Thursday, January 20, 2005. It slowly moved eastward affecting the Great Lakes region and the Mid-Atlantic states on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and January 22, 2005. On Saturday evening the storm entered the Southern New England area. The strength of the storm, coupled with the extreme Arctic temperatures, created a light, fluffy snow which increased the snowfall totals.

The storm shut down Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts and T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, while also impairing travel throughout much of Massachusetts due to the high amount of snow covering the roads. Practically all schools in the Metrowest and South East regions of Massachusetts were closed for at least two days. Cape Cod Community College, as well as all public schools on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket were closed for up to a week.

After traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, the storm system hit parts of Great Britain and Ireland and the Scandinavian peninsula, causing even more widespread blackouts and a small number of deaths in the region.

Conditions

Conditions throughout much of eastern Massachusetts were near-whiteout and, in some cases, were whiteout. State Police in both Dartmouth and Middleborough suggested that residents travel as little as possible. Major highways, such as Route 24, Route 6 and Route 140, could not be properly cleared because of the heavy snowfall and high winds. Secondary highways, such as Route 79 were nearly impassable in some areas.

Many Boston-area newscasters credit the New England Patriots football game on January 23 for keeping most travellers indoors, avoiding the pile-ups and endless lines of stuck cars that were the hallmark of the Blizzard of 1978. The fact that the storm fell on a weekend when many people did not have to go to work or school also helped to this effect.

Aftermath

With much of the snow cleared from the roads by the evening of January 24, snowpiles on street corners were in excess of ten feet high in some locations. Roads were severely narrowed in most congested areas, due to parked cars that were not towed and instead simply plowed in. Most schools in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island remained closed for an extended period of time to allow for clean-up of the road debris.

Storm totals

Location - storm total - time/date - comments - snowfall measurement

See also

• List of Regional Snowfall Index Category 4 winter storms

External links

• Photos from the blizzard of 2005 from Saugus