Visible satellite from Saturday afternoon 10/29 showing the massive winter-like storm system on the East Coast

As long as you didn't sleep through the entire day on Saturday, you can say that you experienced a piece of meteorological history in the New York Metro area. No, there weren't record snowfall amounts as far as winter-time snowfall records. However, it was easy to mistake today for a mid-winter's day, and that's where the historical aspect of the storm system comes into play. Prior to Saturdays major snowfall event, all of the major reporting station in the New  York City area had October snowfall records under 1 inch. That's right, in all of recorded snowfall history...none of the major reporting stations (Newark, LaGuardia, Kennedy, Central Park) had experienced a snowfall over 1 inch in  October. This all changed on Saturday as all of the major reporting stations broke their previous records. Newark recorded 4.6 inches of snow, LaGuardia 1.5 inches, Kennedy 1.2 inches, and Central Park 1.3 inches. Incredible totals given the time of year. Interior areas cashed in even more as the elevation helped keep them cooler: Areas of Northwest New Jersey, Southeast New York, and Southwest Connecticut recorded over 15 inches of snow (some near 20 inches!). Winds and the heaviness of the snow on still leaved trees resulted in extremely widespread tree damage--and power outages. Unprecedented, unheard of, and historical. All words that can be used to define the events which transpired on Saturday.

Sunday should be much better without a doubt. The storm will shift northeast, away from the area, and high pressure will build back in. High temperatures will be quite low, thanks to the cold airmass and the snow pack, but should still be able to reach into the mid 40's in the city. Farther inland, highs may struggle to get out of the lower 40's and may stay in the 30's in some elevated areas. Essentially, despite the fact that the snow will have stopped falling and the sun will be shining, it will feel more like December than late October. Low temperatures Sunday night will be cold once again--dropping below freezing by a good bit inland , into the 20's. Even in the city, with favorable radiational cooling conditions, low temperatures will fall into the lower to middle 30's.



Today (Sunday): Mostly sunny, a bit breezy early. High's near 44 in the city, cooler inland. Northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour. Going to feel cooler than usual with the snowpack.

Tonight: Mostly clear, low near 33 in the city. Possibly more than 10 degrees cooler inland, in the low 20's. Likely the coldest night of the season to date, especially inland. The snow pack and ideal radiational cooling conditions will help temperatures drop rapidly. Winds out of the northwest at 5 miles per hour.

Article written by JH. Published October 30th, 2011 at 12:48am. Looking for a forecast? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the weekend into next week, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.