The National Weather Service in Taunton, MA has confirmed the large and very cold snowstorm that pummeled Southeastern New England January 2-3, 2014 as a blizzard. The worst conditions were in Eastern Massachusetts on the morning of January 3 as the storm passed well east of Nantucket. Blizzard conditions were confirmed in four locations: Hyannis, Marshfield, Falmouth, and Nantucket. See the full report below from the National Weather Service.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 300 PM EST TUE JAN 07 2014 ...BLIZZARD OF 2014 IN SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS... BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WERE REACHED AT FOUR LOCATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS DURING THE STORM THAT OCCURRED ON JANUARY 2 AND 3. THUS IT IS SAFE TO CALL THIS A BLIZZARD. THE STRICT DEFINITION OF A BLIZZARD IS THAT FALLING AND/OR BLOWING SNOW REDUCES VISIBILITY TO BELOW 1/4 MILE ALONG WITH WINDS THAT FREQUENTLY GUST TO 35 MPH OR MORE... AND THAT THESE CONDITIONS ARE THE PREDOMINANT REPORTED CONDITION FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE HOURS. WHEN REVIEWING WHETHER A PARTICULAR OBSERVATION LOCATION HAD BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...WE COUNTED VISIBILITIES EQUAL TO 1/4 MILE SINCE THAT IS QUITE LOW FOR AN AUTOMATED VISIBILITY SENSOR TO BE ABLE TO DETECT. AT HYANNIS...BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OCCURRED FROM 543 AM TO 849 AM ON JANUARY 3. AT MARSHFIELD...BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OCCURRED FROM 555 PM JANUARY 2 TO 635 AM ON JANUARY 3. AT FALMOUTH...BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OCCURRED FROM 335 AM TO 855 AM ON JANUARY 3. AT NANTUCKET...BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OCCURRED FROM 729 AM TO 418 PM ON JANUARY 3. AT NANTUCKET...THE VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS AT TIMES WERE MORE FROM BLOWING SNOW THAN FALLING SNOW WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR SOME OF THE HIGHER CEILINGS THAT WERE REPORTED. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NEAR-BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED AT CHATHAM AND PROVINCETOWN BUT VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS WERE NOT AS PERSISTENT. $$
