January 22-23, 2005 is the greatest winter storm that I have forecasted in nearly 15 years as a meteorologist. It was a near-perfect setup with plenty of Arctic air in place – the low temperature at TF Green on the day of the storm was -2°F. A strong disturbance was moving through the Ohio Valley, and it exploded into a blizzard when it hit the Atlantic Ocean. The wind gusted over 80 mph on Nantucket and Cape Cod. TF Green received nearly 2 feet of snow – second only to the Blizzard of 1978. The totals were even higher in Eastern Massachusetts where some saw 3 feet of snow! The storm hit on a Saturday into Sunday, so the impact on the work and school was minimized some, but the sheer volume of snow forced many school districts to remain closed early in the week.
I was working at ABC6 in Providence at the time of the storm. It was an “all hands on deck” storm, and my three colleagues in the weather department have all since moved on from WLNE. Mark Searles (WJAR) was the chief meteorologist, Charlie Lopresti (WGME) and Matt Lagor (WPRI) worked weekends. Below are some photos I took of the storm, our coverage, and it’s aftermath.
More day-two pictures on page 2
