The monster snowstorm that blasted New Jersey in late February was indeed a blizzard in several counties in the state’s northeastern region along with New York City, according to a preliminary review by the National Weather Service.
Three key conditions that are needed for a snowstorm to be technically declared a blizzard were all met on Feb. 23 in New York City, Hudson County, eastern Bergen County, eastern Essex County and eastern Union County, the weather service’s New York regional forecast office announced Friday afternoon.
The storm started on Sunday, Feb. 22, but ramped up in intensity during the morning of Monday, Feb. 23, when blizzard conditions occurred for several hours at various times.
According to the National Weather Service’s technical definition, a snowstorm needs to have all of these three conditions during a period of three hours or longer to be classified as a blizzard:
- Sustained winds or frequent wind gusts of 35 mph or stronger.
- Falling and/or blowing snow.
- Visibility frequently reduced to a quarter-mile or less.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter how much snow falls for a storm to be an actual blizzard. There just has to be some snow, enough to blow around and cut visibility for a few hours…