Mesoscale Aspects of Northeast Snowfall Distribution

Abstract

The descriptions of 30 major Northeast snowstorms in chapters 3 and 4, and 37 “near miss” cases in chapter 5, provide a basis for understanding the evolution of the cyclones responsible for the heavy snow-producing systems in the Northeast, while describing atmospheric features and processes that operate on a continuum of scales from the very large, or synoptic scale, to very small, or mesoscale. The snowfall distributions exhibited by the many cases shown in Figs. 3-2, 5-5, and 5-13 cover large, synoptic-scale areas, but all contain mesoscale detail. Mesoscale regions of enhanced snowfall rates are often associated with snowbands that can occur within larger synoptic-scale areas of heavy snow or they can exist as isolated phenomena. These bands are often less than 100 km wide and can extend over lengths of several hundred kilometers, and in some cases, the bands may extend over lengths approaching 1000 km.