The winter of 2003-2004 began in early December in the
northeast with a snowstorm/blizzard
on December 5th-6th
that dumped a total of 15"-20"
across the area into
New England. The storm was the greatest
pre-winter
storm on record and was followed a week
later by another record snowstorm that brought 6" to
NYC and heavier amounts to New
England. The snowfall
for December was 20"even
with a milder break later in
the month around Christmas. The previous
year a
snowstorm occurred right on Christmas.
January 2004 was record cold and the temperature
reached +1 degrees at NYC and
zero at Newark. The
temperatures for several weeks
of January were well
below normal, the 7th coldest since 1869
and also
it was the 9th snowiest. A clipper storm dropped 6"
midmonth with single digit temperatures, and another storm
dropped 10" on NYC in late January.
February 2004 was normal temperatures with a brief cold snap.
A Blizzard raged across Nova Scotia at midmonth, with the
fringe snows hitting Nj coast; A heavy snowstorm dropped
18" at Rock Hill SC a week later, but the storm did not
turn northeast. A Pacific storm brought heavy snows to
the Sierra Nevada and heavy coastal rains that same week.
March 2004 started mild in the east... However a series of
storms brought accumulating snowfall mid-month..with
NYC receiving 6" and Newark receiving 9" in a week.
The seasonal snowfall for NYC measured 43" and Newark
48"as of 3/20/04.
All in all an active winter due to converging jets at times
and El Nino influences being
weak..
The National Weather Service declared the winter "average"
but residents of northeast experienced their second harsh
and snowy winter in a row.
In NYC there have not been two back-to-back winters with
over 40" of snow since the late 1940s.
