Winter Storm Jonas: Where Does it Rank Historically?

January 24,2016
Winter Storm Jonas produced prolific amounts of snow in parts of the East, rivaling infamous snowstorms of the recent past. Snowfall totals from the storm topped out near 42 inches in West Virginia and at least 14 states in total received more than a foot of snow from the storm.

Satellite image from Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 showing the snow cover left behind by Jonas in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
(NASA)

Below is a look at Jonas' ranking in history among some of the biggest storms on record, topping the Blizzard of 1996 or the February 2003 President's Day II storm in some cases. You will also find a full recap of snow, wind and coastal flooding reports by state.
(INTERACTIVE: Jonas' Snow Reports Map)

Where Jonas Was the All-Time Heaviest Snowstorm

Jonas was the single biggest snowstorm on record for at least six locations in the East:

• Allentown, Pennsylvania: 31.9 inches Jan. 22-23, 2016 crushed the Jan. 7-9, 1996 blizzard total of 25.9 inches.
• Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Maryland (BWI): 29.2 inches Jan 22-23, 2016 beat the President's Day II storm of Feb. 16-18, 2003. Records date back to 1892.
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 30.2 inches Jan. 22-23, 2016 tops 25 inches Feb. 11-12, 1983. Records date back to 1888.
• New York - LaGuardia Airport: 27.9 inches Jan. 23, 2016 beats the previous record snowstorm of 25.4 inches Feb. 11-12, 2006. Records date back to 1945.
• New York - JFK Airport: 30.5 inches Jan. 23, 2016 beats the previous record snowstorm of 26 inches in the President's Day II storm of Feb. 16-18, 2003.
• Newark, New Jersey: 27.9 inches Jan. 22-23, 2016 surpassed the Jan. 7-8, 1996 blizzard total of 27.8 inches. Records date back to 1893.

Jonas also ranked high among the biggest snowstorms on record in the following locations, but fell short of the record.

• New York City's Central Park: Jonas dumped 26.8 inches of snow on Central Park where records date back to 1869. This was just shy of the record snowstorm of 26.9 inches set Feb. 11-12, 2006.
• Washington, D.C.: The storm total of 17.8 inches at Reagan-National Airport tied Feb. 5-6, 2010 as the fourth heaviest snowstorm dating to 1884. 
• Philadelphia: A storm total of 22.4 inches was recorded in Jonas, ranking as the fourth heaviest snowstorm. This is also equal to the amount of snow Phildelphia averages during the course of an entire season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Extreme Snowfall Totals By State

At least six states saw more than 2 feet of snow and 14 states reported more than a foot of snow from Jonas. Here are some of the most extreme snowfall totals from Jonas by state.
Mid-Atlantic and Northeast (Jan. 22-24, 2016)

• West Virginia: 42 inches of snow in Glengary, in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
• Virginia: 39 inches in Philomont, about 25 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.
• Maryland: 38 inches in Redhouse, in western Maryland. Redhouse is 150 miles west of Baltimore.
• New York: 31.3 inches in Port Richmond.
• Pennsylvania: 38.3 inches near Greencastle.
• New Jersey: 33 inches in Morris Plains.
• Connecticut: 16 inches in Norwalk.
• Delaware: 17.2 inches in Woodside.
• Rhode Island: 15.5 inches at Westerly, in the southwestern corner of the state.
• Massachusetts: 15.5 inches at West Harwich on Cape Cod. Blizzard conditions verified in Chatham, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Plymouth.

South and Ohio Valley (Friday-Early Saturday)

• Kentucky: 22 inches near Booneville in eastern Kentucky; 12.2 inches of snow and 0.30 inch of ice in Bowling Green; 2 inch per hour snowfall rates in Jackson with a storm total of 16.2 inches
• North Carolina: 19 inches near Old Fort. Also 0.65 inches of ice glaze near Selma.
• Ohio: 17 inches in Graysville, in southeast Ohio, about 80 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
• Tennessee: 14 inches in Jamestown. Nashville reported thundersnow during the day Friday with a storm total of 8 inches.
• Arkansas: 8 inches near Sherwood, Cabot and Jacksonville.
• Georgia: 7.5 inches at Dillard in Rabun County of far northeast Georgia.
• South Carolina: 7.5 inches of snow in Inman; 1/2 inch of ice glaze in Fort Mill. Both are close to the North Carolina border.
• Illinois: 5.5 inches at Shawneetown, in the southeastern parts of the state near the Ohio River.
• Indiana: 5 inches in Floyds Knobs, just over the Ohio River from Louisville.
• Alabama: 3.5 inches near Harvest, just to the northwest of Huntsville.
• Louisiana: 2.5 inches in Haynesville, near the Arkansas border.
• Mississippi: 2 inches in Oxford and Myrtle, both in northern Mississippi.

During the early stages of Jonas' development, snow fell in the Plains states Thursday. Snowfall totals included:

• Kansas: 10 inches in Barnes; 9.5 inches in Haddam
• Nebraska: 9 inches in Hebron; 8 inches in Hubbell
• Missouri: 3 inches snow in East Prairie

High Winds

Very high winds developed over the Mid-Atlantic, just north of the low pressure center associated with Winter Storm Jonas, later expanding into parts of southeastern New England.
Some of the highest reported wind gusts include:

• 85 mph on Assateague Island in Maryland (4:40 a.m. Saturday)
• 75 mph Dewey Beach, Delaware (7:35 a.m. Saturday)
• 75 mph at Langley Air Force Base near Newport News, Virginia (12:43 a.m. Saturday)
• 73 mph at Siasconsett, Massachusetts on Nantucket Island (2:47 p.m. Saturday)
• 73 mph in Lewes, Delaware (6:18 a.m. Saturday)
• 72 mph at Good Luck Point, New Jersey (6:49 a.m. Saturday)
• 71 mph in Poquoson, Virginia (1 a.m. Saturday)
• 70 mph at Marshfield, Massachusetts (4:55 p.m. Saturday)
• 70 mph at Wallops Island, Virginia (4:32 a.m. Saturday)
• 69 mph at Cape Henry in Virginia Beach, Virginia (12:12 a.m. Saturday)
• 68 mph at Tuckerton, New Jersey (6:47 a.m. Saturday)
• 66 mph in Georgetown, Delaware (4:40 a.m. Saturday)

Top sustained winds include:

• 57 mph at Assateague Island, Maryland (4:40 a.m. Saturday)
• 56 mph just offshore at the Chesapeake Light buoy east of Virginia Beach, Virginia (12 a.m. Saturday)
• 59 mph in Lewes, Delaware (6:24 a.m. Saturday)
• 55 mph at Cape Henry in Virginia Beach, Virginia (12:12 a.m. Saturday)
• 55 mph at the Brandywine Light buoy in lower Delaware Bay (5:00 a.m. Saturday)
• 53 mph at Wallops Island, Virginia (4:36 a.m. Saturday)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coastal Flooding

On Saturday morning, the water level at Lewes, Delaware, rose to 9.27 feet, due to a storm surge of more than 4 feet above normal astronomical tides. This is the highest level on record at that location, beating 9.20 feet during the infamous Ash Wednesday nor'easter on March 6, 1962. Record flooding has also been observed in at least three New Jersey locations (Great Channel at Stone Harbor, Cape May Harbor, Delaware Bay at Cape May). Major impacts were reported from the flooding from southern New Jersey into Delaware.

PHOTOS: Winter Storm Jonas