Winter Storm, Orange
- When
- December 11, 8:00 PM EST to December 12, 4:00 AM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.402, -74.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
An area of low pressure formed along the Southeast Atlantic coast on Tuesday December 10th. On Wednesday, December 11th, this storm moved northeast along a track that hugged the east coast. This storm passed by the New York Metropolitan area on the night of December 11th into the 12th, before moving to the Canadian Maritimes during the day on Thursday, December 12th. The proximity of the track of the storm allowed relatively warm air from the Atlantic Ocean to move onshore along the coast, which resulted in most of the precipitation falling as a liquid. However, over inland locations a shallow layer of cold air froze this liquid on contact with the ground, which resulted in a significant ice storm.Light precipitation started to fall during the early afternoon on Wednesday, December 11th, in the form of a mix of sleet and freezing rain. This light mix continued until around 7 pm, when the precipitation turned to snow and became heavy. This heavy burst of snow lasted between 60 and 90 minutes, was accompanied by lightning and resulted in quick snowfall accumulations of between 2 and 3 inches. By 9 pm, the precipitation changed back to freezing rain, which continued until about 4 am the next morning. Local cooperative observers reported a storm total liquid equivalent of between 1.0 and 1.5 inches, which accumulated as snow or ice. This wintry mix resulted in numerous vehicular accidents due to ice covered roads and several downed trees and power lines.