The Kennedy Inaugural Snowstorm
This storm dropped over 10 inches of snow over a large area from central West Virginia all the way to southeastern New Hampshire. Over 20 inches was reported in a narrow band from central Pennsylvania through New Jersey and into southeastern New York. Parts of Connecticut reported over 20 inches and another band of over 20 inches fell from northern Massachusetts through extreme southern New Hampshire. This storm was a Cat 2 for the Northeast Region and a Cat 1 in the Southeast Region. (Kocin and Uccellini)
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 | 3.90 | Category 2, Significant | 173,028 | 58,859,231 | 0 | 0 |
| Southeast | 1.28 | Category 1, Notable | 87,710 | 17,413,782 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio Valley | 0.84 | Below category 1 | 297,035 | 47,668,743 | 0 | 0 |
| Upper Midwest | 0.13 | Below category 1 | 172,047 | 18,337,094 | 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.
In the Storm Events record
The Storm Events Database holds winter weather only from 1996, so this storm has no episodes there.
More
The snowstorm of December 10 to 13, 1960The snowstorm of February 1 to 5, 1961Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.