The snowstorm of April 9 to 11, 1996
A snowstorm NOAA ranked in 4 regions on its Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Northeast.
What the offices filed during it
Winter weather episodes east of the Rockies from the day before the storm began to the day after it ended, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The storm by region
Each region’s thresholds are its own, so the same depth of snow counts for more in the South than in the Northeast.
| Region | Index | Category | Area with snow (sq mi) | People under snow | Above the top threshold (sq mi) | People above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 1.64 | Category 1, Notable | 174,758 | 58,882,332 | 0 | 0 |
| Southeast | 0.45 | Below category 1 | 40,621 | 7,592,370 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio Valley | 0.12 | Below category 1 | 89,026 | 17,192,180 | 0 | 0 |
| Upper Midwest | 0.02 | Below category 1 | 46,099 | 9,623,396 | 0 | 0 |
The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.
The toll the offices filed
- Events
- 233
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
- Damage
- $65,000
- Episodes
- 34
Every winter weather episode the Weather Service filed east of the Rockies in these dates. A few may belong to another system on the same days. Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Episode by episode
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, April 7 to 8, 1996A low pressure system developed off the North Carolina coast and a nor'easter accompanied by heavy, wet snow began during the late afternoon and early evening on Easter Sunday.
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, April 7 to 8, 1996A low pressure system moving northeast well off the coast dropped 6 to 9 inches of wet snow over portions of central and interior southeast New Hampshire.
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, April 8, 1996Light snow accumulated to an inch or two mostly at higher elevations. The snow persisted into the afternoon and then diminished.
- Heavy Snow in Maine, April 8, 1996A low pressure system moving northeast well off the coast dropped 6 to 9 inches of wet snow over interior sections of eastern Maine.
- Winter Weather in Virginia, April 8 to 9, 1996Snow showers resulted in accumulations of 1 to 2 inches of snow across the higher terrain of Tazewell, Bland, Smyth, Wythe, and Grayson Counties.
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, April 8 to 9, 1996Snow showers resulted in accumulations of generally 1 to 3 inches across Ashe and Watauga Counties.
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed near Cape Hatteras the morning of the 9th, intensified and moved slowly northeast during the next 24 hours. It reached Cape Cod the morning of the 10th. This caused a late season rain and snow storm across Eastern Pennsylvania.
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed near Cape Hatteras the morning of the 9th, intensified and moved slowly northeast during the next 24 hours. It reached Cape Cod the morning of the 10th.
- Heavy Snow in New York, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system formed off the North Carolina Coast during Tuesday morning, April 9th.
- Heavy Snow in Connecticut, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system formed off the North Carolina Coast during Tuesday morning, April 9th.
- Heavy Snow in New Jersey, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed near Cape Hatteras the morning of the 9th, intensified and moved slowly northeast during the next 24 hours. It reached Cape Cod the morning of the 10th.
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed along the middle Atlantic coast and intensified to 984 mb (29.06 in.) as its center passed right over Nantucket Island at 10 AM on April 10.
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, April 9 to 10, 1996A strong low pressure center traveling northeast just off the coast dumped 8 to 22 inches of snow over much of New Hampshire. Amounts were extremely variable, with some locations receiving less than 5 inches.
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed along the mid-Atlantic coast and intensified to 984 mb (29.06 in.) as its center passed right over Nantucket Island, MA at 10 AM on April 10th.
- Heavy Snow in Connecticut, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed along the mid-Atlantic coast and intensified to 984 mb (29.06 in.) as its center passed right over Nantucket Island, MA at 10 AM on April 10th.
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, April 9 to 10, 1996A low pressure system developed along the mid-Atlantic coast and intensified to 984 mb (29.06 in.) as its center passed right over Nantucket Island, MA at 10 AM on April 10th. This storm brought a record late-season heavy snowfall to the region.
- Heavy Snow in Maine, April 9 to 11, 1996A strong low pressure center traveling northeast just off the coast dumped 10 or more inches of snow over most of Maine.
- Heavy Snow in Vermont, April 9 to 10, 1996A spring storm rapidly intensified as it moved northeast along the Atlantic coast during April 9 and 10. The system produced a general snowfall of 6 inches across Bennington and Windham Counties of southern Vermont.
- Cold in Alabama, April 10, 1996A new record low of 29 degrees was set at the Birmingham airport.
- Cold in Alabama, April 10, 1996A new record low temperature of 30 degrees was set at the Huntsville International Airport.
- Cold in Alabama, April 10, 1996A new record low temperature of 30 degrees was set at the Tuscaloosa airport.
- Winter Storm in Vermont, April 10 to 11, 1996A storm system off the Virginia coast Tuesday morning (4/9/96) moved to near Cape Cod Wednesday morning (4/10/96).
- Winter Weather in New York, April 10, 1996A storm system off the Virginia coast Tuesday morning (4/9/96) moved to near Cape Cod Wednesday morning (4/10/96) and then continued northeast toward the Canadian Maritimes Wednesday night.Snow spread into the New York counties of Clinton and Essex Wednesday morning and ended…
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, April 11 to 12, 1996Six to 16 inches of snow fell across the Black Hills and western South Dakota. Roads were closed and numerous accidents occurred, but no major injuries were reported.
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, April 11, 1996Six inches of snow fell in the Lusk area.
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, April 11 to 13, 1996A Pacific storm system brought heavy snow to the Northern Oregon Cascades and the Northeast Mountains. Timberline and Willamette Pass recieved 6 inches and Spout Springs 4 inches on the 12th and 5 more inches on the 13th as the storm exited the state.
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, April 11 to 12, 1996Heavy wet snow fell across part of north central South Dakota from the evening of the 11th to the morning of the 12th. Some snowfall amounts include, 6 inches at Isabel, 8 inches at Bowdle, Eagle Butte, Timber Lake, and Selby.
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, April 12 to 13, 1996A low pressure system moving across Iowa and northern Illinois brought a late-season mix of snow, sleet, rain, and freezing rain to northwest Wisconsin.
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, April 12, 1996Snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches fell in a narrow band. One report of an undetermined amount greater than 8 inches came from Avon in Bon Homme County. A rollover accident in the snow 3 miles west of Canton resulted in 3 injuries.
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, April 12, 199610 INCHES REPORTED AT MILAN, 9 INCHES AT BENSON AND CANBY, 7 INCHES AT MORA, MILACA AND MELROSE.
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, April 12 to 13, 1996Freezing rain glazed the roads across much of central and northeast Wisconsin. This event had a convective nature in its early stages, with several reports of pea to marble size hail during the afternoon of the 12th.
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, April 12 to 13, 1996Ice accumulations of one-quarter inch or more were reported across far north central and northeast Wisconsin. Snow accumulations of up to 2 inches were also reported.
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, April 12, 1996A low pressure system moving across Iowa and northern Illinois brought a late-season mix of snow, sleet, rain, and freezing rain to northeast Minnesota, mainly south of Duluth, from Brainerd to Hinckley.
- Winter Storm in Michigan, April 12 to 13, 1996A low pressure system moved northeast from Iowa on the afternoon of Friday April 12 to Southeast Lower Michigan on the morningof Saturday April 13. Snow developed over West Upper Michigan during Friday afternoon and spread into North Central Upper Michigan Friday night.
More
The snowstorm of March 22 to 26, 1996The snowstorm of November 22 to 27, 1996Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.