Winter Storm Fortis: Heavy Snow, Strong Winds Reported From New England Bombogenesis

Brian Donegan
Published: December 30,2016
Winter Storm Fortis is quickly moving away from the Northeast, but some heavy lake-effect snow will persist in the Great Lakes snowbelts.
Fortis rapidly intensified near the Northeast coast on December 29th, bringing heavy snow and strong winds to much of New England.
(MORE: The Science of Naming Winter Storms | 2016-2017 Winter Storm Names List)
Snow began spreading across the Northeast on the morning of Dec. 29, though along the Interstate 95 corridor south of Boston, rain was the main precipitation type.
Fortis produced snow totals of a half foot or more in eight states: Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia. Incredible snowfall rates of 4 to 6 inches per hour were measured in parts of Maine on the evening of Dec. 29, leading to snow totals of over two feet.
Thundersnow was reported in parts of Connecticut, including Litchfield, early that evening, as well as near Watertown, New York. More thundersnow reports came in later on the evening of Dec. 29 from all across eastern Massachusetts, including the Boston metro area, as well as southeast Maine in the Portland area. As if thundersnow weren't enough, a report of thunder graupel (snow pellets) came in from Oswego, New York, from a heavy lake-effect band.
(INTERACTIVE: Driving Difficulty Map)

Current Radar, Temperatures, Winds, Conditions

A southward plunge of the jet stream, or upper-level trough, intensified over the eastern half of the country. In response, an area of low pressure developed at the surface near the Northeast coast, and has pushed into far eastern Canada.
(MORE: Winter Storm Central)
This low underwent "bombogenesis," a rapid strengthening within a period of only 24 hours. This system went from a central pressure of 1004 millibars at 1 p.m. Dec. 29 to 976 millibars at 1 a.m. Dec. 30, dropping 28 millibars in 12 hours.
As a result, about a 12- to 18-hour period of heavy snow and strong winds occurred over much of New England.

Friday Forecast

Snow will linger in far-northern New England Friday, as the low continues to pull northward farther into Canada. Lake-effect snow will also persist in most of the Great Lakes snowbelts as even colder air filters in on the backside of Fortis.
(FORECAST: Erie, Pennsylvania | Concord, New Hampshire | Bangor, Maine)
Additional snowfall will generally be light.
Winds will continue to be gusty across the Northeast through Friday. This could lead to some tree damage and power outages, along with blowing and drifting snow.

Snowfall Totals, So Far

Here's a list of the highest snowfall totals in each state from Fortis.
Connecticut: 4.5 inches near Colebrook
Maine: 29.0 inches in Kingfield; 27.0 inches in Naples, Standish, Starks and near Oxford
Massachusetts: 10.8 inches in Fitchburg
Michigan: 13.0 inches (estimated) near Gaylord
New Hampshire: 20.0 inches in Bartlett
New Jersey: 2.9 inches in Wantage
New York: 12.8 inches in East Concord
Pennsylvania: 12.0 inches (estimated) in Bradford
Vermont: 11.0 inches (estimated) in Westfield
​West Virginia: 8.0 inches near Cherry Grove
Incidentally, "Fortis" (FOR-tis) is a Latin word for strong.

MORE: Winter Storm Fortis, December 29-30 2016