Holiday weather, 1988

Christmas, 1988 was relatively mild. The high on Christmas Day was 49 degrees. Christmas Eve had been rainy, and gray, whereas most evidence of the rain was gone by midnight on Christmas Day. The clouds cleared out by sunset, so that left the holiday cloudy. The next day,Boxing Day, was mostly cloudy, and relatively mild. The cloudy conditions continued on the next day, and the temperature was a bit lower, but not by much, with 41 degrees as the high.

Christmas Eve surface map 7 AM

Rain began during the late afternoon hours on the 28th. It became heavy after midnight. The high was close to 60 degrees. The weather during this time was hardly what you’d call winter. The 29th, dawned clear, but clouds returned by mid day. The temperatures fell during the afternoon, and were back into the 20’s by nightfall.  December 30th, was an overcast day, and the temperatures were back into the freezing range.

December 28, 1988 7 AM

The temperatures were back to the 40’s on New Years Eve. The weather was clear for the midnight hour. The temperatures actually dropped on New Years Day, and we were set for some very cold weather in the coming months.

March 7-8,1989 snowstorm

We  just had the major snowstorm in February, and now this one came. The 7th dawned dreary and gray. The first flakes fell a little after 7 AM, and went to work covering the ground. By 10 AM, there was an inch and a half. Throughout the day, the snow came in heavy waves. By noon, it became apparent that the snow was going to be around for a while. Around nightfall, the snow let up some, but not much. This was one to save the winter from being horrid.

The snow continued throughout the night, becoming heavier and heavier. The DPW had no problems, and they sanded the roads, to make sure whoever had to work the next day had a smooth commute. The last flakes fell after 2 PM. Sure enough school was cancelled both Tuesday and Wednesday. Sledding was common, and children built snow men; had snowball fights, and did other things with the snow.

On Chicken Hill, the unofficial total accumulation was 10″. The highest unofficial gust was 49 mph, and some of the hedges were damaged. On Old South Road, some wires were downed by the winds, and temporary power loss was reported. The parking lot of RB Corcoran was snowed in, except for the shovel path dug by my father. The drifts were relatively tame in the parking lot, unlike the last snowstorm.

Map showing position of storm at 7 AM

Stats:

Accumulation: 10″ Forecast: 6″

Wind: 40 mph Unofficial: 49 mph

Damage: Wires down, plants damaged.

February 23-25,1989 Snowstorm

This was perhaps the biggest  storm during the 1988/1989 winter. The days leading up to it were above freezing, and many wondered if it was going to actually be a worthwhile storm. On the 22nd, a storm center formed off of the Carolinas, and rapidly moved northeastward. Rain initated early in the morning hours of the 22nd. This was an older storm, and may have been connected to the developing center.

The rain switched to snow after 4 PM. A lull occurred during the early evening hours. The lull continued until early morning, when the snow came back in full force. By 10 AM, there were two inches, and it was still coming down. The snow grew heavy in the early afternoon hours, and it made streets all but impassable. Even in the dinner hours, restaurants that normally were open for business on Friday night were closed, simply because of the amount of snowfall. The storm reached its official peak gust in the late evening hours.

At my parents apartment, located on Old South Road, the parking lot was snowed in, you could not physically go anywhere. The center passsed off to the southeast of the island. Sledding on Saturday was a possibility, but few would go out, the winds were still in the upper 40’s with a few gusts to 50. My grandparents house on Chicken Hill, fared a little better, on the 25th they had a freak gust of 68 mph. The snow came to an end by noon on the 25th. By the end of the day, the sun was back out. A total of 14″ was recorded on Nantucket.

Sledding commenced after the snow stopped, and it lasted well into Sunday. There was some melting, as the temperature was 37 degrees. By nightfall, rain commenced. The snowpack didn’t pay too dearly, and on Monday, the rain turned to ice, putting a nice glaze on objects. This was one of the good highlights of the winter. The gradient of the snowfall was amazing with this storm. On the Cape and Islands, 12-16″ fell. Off the cape, it was anywhere from 6-12″, and in Worcester County, almost nothing fell.

Stats:

Accumulation: 14″ Forecast: 6″

Winds: 50 mph Unofficial: 62 mph

Damage: Some coastal flooding along the southern waterfront. The creeks turned into a lake.

February 10,1989

This was nothing more than a small band of flurries. The snow initiated around 9 AM, and it never really amounted to much. The flurries themselves accumulated 1″ in the time frame they fell. The snow let up by 11 AM. Overall, it was a nice inch to wrap up the work week.

Stats:

Accumulation: 1″ Forecast: 0

Wind: 10 mph Unofficial: 15 mph

Damage: none

February 5, 1989 snowfall

After getting off to a good start, the winter began to get even better. On the morning of  Sunday, February 5th, snow began to fall a little bit after 8. By noon, there was an inch on the ground. It looked as though there might not be any school on Monday. The snow continued to fall throughout the afternoon hours, and by 8 PM, there were three inches recorded at the house on Chicken Hill. The storm ended shortly before 4 PM, and it left the island frosted with a decent accumulation.

The snow started back up around midnight, and it fell heavily throughout the region. A new storm system was making its way into the region, and by 8 AM on the 6th, it switched to heavy rain, melting the snow. The temperatures made their way into the upper 30’s, and became steady at 36. The rain froze and made everything glazed, causing numerous slip and fall injuries on island.

the storm at its peak

Stats:

Accumulation: 3″ Forecast: 1″

Wind: 20 mph Unofficial: 25 mph

Damage: None

January 6-7,1989 snowstorm

Cold air had its grip on Cape Cod and the islands. The event on the 4th was nothing compared to this. The 6th dawned cloudy and dismal, with snow predicted. Over the course of the day, the forecast was still the same. Around dusk, the snow began. It started as a light flurry, but quickly turned into an actual snowfall. The snow fell into the night, and continued into the early morning hours of the 7th, when the warm sector of the storm moved overhead. The temperature rose above freezing, and melted any snow away. After the storm switched to drizzle, about 4″ were on the ground.

beginning of storm

the storm at its peak

Stats:

Accumulation: 4″ Forecast: 4″

Wind: 20 mph Unofficial: 22 mph

Damage: None

January 4, 1989 Snowfall

The first snowfall of the year 1989. Although it wasn’t much, it still had some punch to it. This was also the first powerful cold front of 1989. The snow initiated a little bit before dawn on the 4th. It let up a little bit after 7 AM, and things cleared up, however another round of light snow fell after the 10 AM hour. This round of snow let up before noon. In total, 2″ accumulated from the storm.

December 11-12,1988 snowfall

Up until this point, December was looking bleak. The normal high until this event, was in the upper 40’s. Christmas Stroll weekend, was a cloudy one. 35 was the high on both Saturday and Sunday. On sunday night, snow began to trickle into the area, and by early monday morning, the snow began to fall; however dry air was in place, preventing any real accumulation from being established. I consider this the forerunner of the Tuesday event. Any accumulation from this phase, was minimal. The airport recorded just a trace of snow.

The next day, Tuesday; was the real event. The snow started around 4 AM on the 12th. It quickly picked up, and became an all out storm by 6 AM. The snow quickly amassed into 2″ by the time it stopped the first time, which was around 8 AM.  Another band of snow came through after 3 PM. The temperatures were below freezing the entire day, however that would change after midnight, gradually, the temps were in the 30’s; but then they rose to the 40’s. The next day, rain began to fall around 2 PM, melting all of the 4″ snow pack. This storm would usher in another storm on the 17th.

The system, off of the Delmarva

The storm at its peak

Stats:

Accumulation: 5″ Forecast: 2″

Winds: 35 mph Unofficial: 42 mph

Damage: None

December 17,1988 snowstorm

The 1988/1989 winter was somewhat of a dud, at least as far as Nantucket is concerned. On the 15th, an area of Low pressure developed in the midwest, and moved eastward. By the 17th, it was near New England, and began to bring precipitation to the area. Snow began on Nantucket after 2 pm. It began as a light snow at first, but after 3 PM, it got heavier in intensity. It slackened off considerably after dark, but it still snowed nonetheless. The town had no trouble with snow removal. The storm was forecast to move offshore well to the south of Nantucket, which it did, and by the early morning hours of the 18th, the storm was gone.

Overall about 4″ fell on Nantucket, the Cape fared a little better, but not by much. The snow was a light, fluffy composure, not good for snow building, but good for sledding. Chicken Hill recorded a little more than the official total.  It was a good saturday for kids, and a headache for adults. There was another event on Monday, and that would leave snow on the ground, but that would be gone by Tuesday.

Small view of the storm centered near Nantucket

The storm at its peak.

Stats:

Accumulation: 4″  Forecast: 1″

Wind: 30 mph Unofficial: 28 mph

Damage: None

Holiday week weather: 1989

The reason I’ve condensed this post, is because there were quite a few smaller events in this time frame. The year 1989 was coming to a close, and a new decade was beginning.  During the early morning hours on Christmas Eve, a small low pressure area passed well to the south of Nantucket. Two distinct rounds of snow fell. The first round of snow fell during the early morning. It is said that around an inch fell, or at least that was what was recorded at both my house and Chicken Hill. The second round, began in earnest at around 3 PM. It was light at first, but it began to get heavier in intensity.

This round of snow left a mere three inches on the ground. It was a white Christmas, and the last one until 1998. The snow briefly hung around. The temp on Christmas Day, was freezing. The next day, Boxing Day; brought some backlash snow that left a measly dusting atop the already melting Christmas snow pack.  The 27th, was sunny and very cold, a trademark of the 1989 portion of the winter. This however, was the last of the cold air, for a while. The clouds came back after dark, and brought a little bit of snow on the 28th.

Once again, another little snowfall. The eighties hadn’t been too kind to Nantucket in terms of snowfall, there were some good snowfalls, but there were not many. The little snowfall was just that: little. about half an inch fell on the island. There was a brief lull in the snowfall, but it returned late on the 29th. This was surely the last gasp of the cold air. On the 30th, the snow changed over to rain, and melted all of our snow away. The high was 37. On New Years Eve, the temperature rose to near 50, and a coastal storm came to close the decade.

The storm didn’t really set in until after dark, but when it did, you could feel it. The winds gusted to 46 mph, and the last bit of cold air, was truly gone; so were the eighties. A new decade was to open, and the first day of it, was to be brought in with fog and light drizzle. The cold air, did come back, but not in the way it had, because on the 3rd of January, it was back near 50.