The snowstorm of March 31 to April 1, 1997

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.

Events

551

Deaths

3

Injuries

61

Damage

$25 million

Episodes

58

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.

• Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 30 to 31, 19971 eventThe last storm of March dumped 7 inches of new snow at Mt. Hood Meadows and Bennett Pass.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 31, 19973 eventsLight snow accumulated to an inch or two at high elevations.
• Heavy Snow in Montana, March 31, 19972 events5 to 6 inches of snow fell across southwest and central Montana.
• Heavy Snow in New York, March 31, 19979 eventsA slow moving low pressure system exited the New Jersey coast during the pre-dawn hours of the 31st and intensified into a powerful system during the day just south of Long Island. Significant Atlantic moisture was thrown back inland over portions of central New York.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 31, 19976 eventsA slow moving low pressure system exited the New Jersey coast during the pre-dawn hours of the 31st and intensified into a powerful system during the day just south of Long Island. Significant Atlantic moisture was thrown inland over northeastern Pennsylvania.
• Winter Storm in Utah, March 31, 19973 deaths · 60 injured · $2.0 million · 12 eventsA strong cold front roared through Utah on this date. High winds and local heavy snowfall were the main weather problems with this system. 6-14" of snow accumulated in the northern mountains and 2-6" elsewhere. High winds caused extensive damage.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in New Jersey, March 31, 199762 kt wind · 34 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter across New Jersey from the morning of March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, March 31, 199720 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter across Eastern Pennsylvania from the morning of March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Winter Storm in New York, March 31, 1997$7.8 million · 18 eventsOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across much of eastern New York during the morning hours of March 31.
• Winter Storm in Vermont, March 31, 1997$1.5 million · 2 eventsOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Bennington and Windham Counties during the morning hours of March 31.
• Winter Storm in Massachusetts, March 31, 1997$1.0 million · 1 eventOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Berkshire County during the morning hours of March 31.
• Winter Storm in Connecticut, March 31, 1997$1.0 million · 1 eventOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Litchfield County during the morning hours of March 31.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Maryland, March 31, 19976 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter in northwestern parts of Cecil County from the afternoon on March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Delaware, March 31, 199750 kt wind · 5 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter in northwestern parts of New Castle County from the afternoon on March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Winter Storm in Vermont, March 31, 1997$95,000 · 3 eventsA storm system along the middle Atlantic coast developed explosively during Monday (3/31/97). It moved slowly northeast passing east of new england overnight.A mixture of rain and snow Monday changed to all snow and continued Monday night.
• Winter Weather in Vermont, March 31, 1997$30,000 · 3 events
• Winter Storm in New York, March 31, 1997$30,000 · 3 eventsA storm system along the middle Atlantic coast developed explosively during Monday (3/31/97). It moved slowly northeast passing east of New England overnight.A mixture of snow and rain changed to all snow during Monday and Monday night.
• Winter Weather in New York, March 31, 1997$25,000 · 5 events
• Winter Storm in New Hampshire, March 31, 19975 eventsA deep low pressure system moving slowly eastward from New Jersey brought high winds and snow to southern and central sections of the state.
• Winter Storm in Maine, March 31, 19972 eventsA deep low pressure system moving slowly eastward from New Jersey brought high winds and snow to southern and central sections of the state. Snowfall accumulations in southern Maine generally ranged from 3 to 7 inches with lesser amounts in central sections of the state.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 31, 19973 eventsSchuylkill, Sullivan and Lancaster Counties were on the western border of a major east coast storm that was unusually severe for the time of year.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Massachusetts, March 31, 199763 kt wind · 47 eventsA low pressure system formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours and intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island by early evening. Pressure falls of 14 millibars occurred during a 12 hour period.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Rhode Island, March 31, 199761 kt wind · 15 eventsA low pressure system formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours and intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island by early evening. Pressure falls of 14 millibars occurred during a 12 hour period.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Connecticut, March 31, 19976 eventsA low pressure system formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours and intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island by early evening. Pressure falls of 14 millibars occurred during a 12 hour period.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in New Hampshire, March 31, 19974 eventsA low pressure system formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours and intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island by early evening. Pressure falls of 14 millibars occurred during a 12 hour period.
• Winter Storm in New York, March 31, 19974 eventsAn intense low pressure system developed off the DELMARVA Coast during Monday morning. It moved slowly east-northeast, passing south of Long Island Monday afternoon and southeast of Cape Cod, MA during Tuesday morning, April 1st.Rain developed Monday morning.
• Heavy Snow in Maryland, March 31, 19971 eventThe same nor'easter that produced gusty and sometimes damaging wind gusts also included a swath of wrap-around snow which moved through northeastern Maryland during the evening of the 31st and early morning of April 1st.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, April 1, 19971 injured · $10 million · 44 eventsA low pressure system which formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Rhode Island, April 1, 1997$700,000 · 14 eventsA low pressure system which formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Connecticut, April 1, 1997$1.0 million · 6 eventsA low pressure system which formed off theNew Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in New Jersey, April 1, 199762 kt wind · 34 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter across New Jersey from the morning of March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Cold in North Carolina, April 1 to 18, 199729 eventsSeveral cold snaps following the relatively warm late winter caused temperatures to dip well into the 20s at times yielding substantial damage to the apple crop and perhaps other crops.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, April 1, 199720 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter across Eastern Pennsylvania from the morning of March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Winter Storm in New York, April 1, 199718 eventsOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across much of eastern New York during the morning hours of March 31.
• Cold in South Carolina, April 1, 199715 eventsSeveral cold snaps following the relatively mild late winter caused low temperatures to dip into the 20s and 30s, likely causing some damage to area crops.
• Heavy Snow in New York, April 1, 19979 eventsThe major late season snowstorm that struck portions of central New York on the 31st of March began to wind down during the pre-dawn hours of April 1st. By sunrise on the 1st, much of the accumulating snowfall had moved out of the region.
• Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Maryland, April 1, 19976 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter in northwestern parts of Cecil County from the afternoon on March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Cold in Georgia, April 1, 19976 eventsSeveral cold snaps caused low temperatures to dip into the 20s and 30s possibly causing some damage to area crops.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, April 1, 19976 eventsThe major late season snowstorm that struck northeast Pennsylvania on the 31st of March began to wind down during the pre-dawn hours of April 1st. By sunrise on the 1st, much of the accumulating snowfall had moved out of the region.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Delaware, April 1, 199750 kt wind · 5 eventsA late season snowstorm dropped some of the heaviest snow of all winter in northwestern parts of New Castle County from the afternoon on March 31st into the morning of April 1st.
• Winter Storm in New Hampshire, April 1, 19975 eventsA deep low pressure system moving slowly eastward from New Jersey brought high winds and snow to southern and central sections of the state.
• Winter Storm in Connecticut, April 1, 19975 eventsAn intense low pressure system developed off the DELMARVA Coast during Monday morning. It moved slowly east-northeast, passing south of Long Island Monday afternoon and southeast of Cape Cod, MA during Tuesday morning, April 1st.Rain developed late Monday morning.
• Winter Storm in Vermont, April 1, 19972 eventsOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Bennington and Windham Counties during the morning hours of March 31.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, April 1, 19972 eventsA low pressure system which formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island.
• Winter Storm in Maine, April 1, 19972 eventsA deep low pressure system moving slowly eastward from New Jersey brought high winds and snow to southern and central sections of the state. Snowfall accumulations in southern Maine generally ranged from 3 to 7 inches with lesser amounts in central sections of the state.
• Heavy Snow in Maryland, April 1, 19971 eventThe same nor'easter that produced gusty and sometimes damaging wind gusts also included a swath of wrap-around snow which moved through northeastern Maryland during the evening of the 31st and early morning of April 1st.
• Winter Storm in Connecticut, April 1, 19971 eventOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Litchfield County during the morning hours of March 31.
• Winter Storm in Massachusetts, April 1, 19971 eventOn March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Berkshire County during the morning hours of March 31.
• Cold in West Virginia, April 1 to 30, 199734 eventsThe monthly average temperature was 4 to 5 degrees colder than usual. It was the 4th coldest April this century at Elkins, and the 5th coldest at Charleston. The coldest temperatures came on the 9th and 10th of the month.
• Cold in Ohio, April 1 to 30, 19979 eventsThe monthly average temperature was about 4 degrees cooler than an average April across southeast Ohio. The coolest temperatures came on the 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th of the month. Dawn readings were mostly in the upper teens and 20s then.
• Cold in Kentucky, April 1 to 30, 19974 eventsThe monthly average temperature was about 4 degrees cooler than usual across extreme northeast Kentucky. The sprouting of the new spring vegetation was slowed during the month. The coldest temperatures came on the mornings of the 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th.
• Cold in Virginia, April 1 to 30, 19972 eventsThe monthly average temperature was 4 to 5 degrees cooler than usual. The coolest readings came on the 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th. Clintwood had 18 degrees on the 10th. Birchleaf had 20 degrees, while Grundy registered 23 degrees.
• Heavy Snow in Montana, April 1, 19973 eventsHeavy snow fell from Great Falls eastward to the Highwood Mountains and southward over the Little and Big Belt Mountains. Most areas received 5 to 8 inches of snow.
• Winter Storm in New Jersey, April 1, 19971 eventAn intense low pressure system developed off the DELMARVA Coast during Monday morning. It moved slowly east-northeast, passing south of Long Island Monday afternoon and southeast of Cape Cod, MA during Tuesday morning, April 1st.Heavy rain developed Monday morning.
• Winter Storm and Hail in Kansas, April 1 to 29, 19971 in hail · 41 eventsSnow amounts ranged from a trace at Liberal and Dodge City, to 6 inches at Scott City and 9 inches a Wakeeney. Snow was accompanied by 30 to 40 mph wind and proceeded by sleet and freezing drizzle.
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, April 1 to 2, 19971 eventHeavy snow fell over the northern Laramie Range with amounts generally ranging from 8 to 10 inches. Casper Mountain received 12 inches.
• Heavy Snow in Colorado, April 2, 19973 eventsAs the storm tracked east across Urban Corridor and into the plains some areas picked up some appreciable amounts. Snowfall totals included: 6 inches at Julesburg, 5 inches at Sedalia, with 4 inches reported at Castle Rock, Morrison and 4 miles northwest of Larkspur.
• Blizzard in Alaska, April 2, 19971 eventA storm moving North-Northwest in the Bering Sea brought strong winds and blizzard conditions to Zone 24.

The snowstorm of January 12 to 17, 1997The snowstorm of April 4 to 7, 1997Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.