Winter Storm Ultima Brought Snow to the Northeast as Spring Arrived (RECAP)

Jon Erdman
Published: March 20,2015



 
Sick of snow? Well, Winter Storm Ultima brought a snowy blanket to spring's official arrival (Friday 6:45 p.m. EDT).
(MORE: Worst Winter Cities 2014-2015 | What Is the Vernal Equinox?)
Winter weather advisories were posted for over 30 million in the Northeast, including the Philadelphia and New York City metro areas.

Recap

In the wake of yet another snowmaker for eastern Maine and parts of Atlantic Canada, fresh cold air was dragged into the Northeast.
Disturbances in the northern (polar) and southern (subtropical) jet streams and associated moisture then pushed into the East.
In response, an area of low pressure developed off the Northeast seaboard. A reinforcing arctic cold front then swept into the Northeast.
However, Ultima was not a major snowstorm like the ones we saw in January and February because of the following reasons:
- The cold air has become a little "stale"; thus near-ground air temperatures allowed for some melting of falling snow.
- It's also late March. With the sun higher in the sky, that adds several degrees of warmth to an air mass compared to what we would see in January or February. It also warms ground temperatures more, especially darker surfaces such as asphalt.
- The offshore low-pressure system wasn't expected to become strong. Therefore, strong winds weren't an issue.
Here are some notable snowfall totals from Winter Storm Ultima:

• Lynnport, Pennsylvania: 7.3 inches
• Morrisville, Pennsylvania: 7.1 inches
• McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey: 6.7 inches
• Cascade, Maryland: 6 inches
• Mount Sinai, New York: 5 inches

Average date of last measurable snow of the season, snow that typically falls after March 20, and the percent of the season's snow that falls after March 20.

Perspective: The Last Snow of the Season

If you're truly sick of snow, you're probably wondering when the last snow of the season occurs.
While every season is different, the season's last accumulating snow typically falls from late February as far south as the Nation's Capital, to late March in southern New England, to April in Maine.
In snow-weary Boston, it's par for the course to pick up another 3 to 4 inches of snow after March 20. Bangor, Maine can expect another 7 to 8 inches of spring snow, comprising roughly one-eighth their season's average snowfall.
Last spring, 0.3 inch of snow fell in Boston on April 16. Boston's previous record snow season featured an April 7-10, 1996 dumping of 7.3 inches of snow.
Of course, we'd be remiss not mentioning the April Fools' Blizzard of 1997, when 25.4 inches of snow in just 24 hours paralyzed Boston and parts of southern New England.
Check back with us at weather.com and The Weather Channel for updates to this forecast.

MORE: Winter Storm Ultima in Pictures