List of NESIS storms

The Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS) is a scale used to categorize winter storms in the Northeast United States.[1] The scale was developed by meteorologists Paul Kocin and Louis Uccellini, and ranks snowstorms from Category 1 ("notable") to Category 5 ("extreme"). Only two historical storms—the 1993 Storm of the Century and the North American blizzard of 1996—are in the latter category. The scale differs from the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale and Fujita Scale, which are used to classify tropical cyclones and tornadoes, respectively, in that it takes into account the number of people affected by the storm.[2] The scale, as devised, is intended chiefly to assess past storms rather than assist in forecasts.[3]

Kocin and Uccellini's 2004 book, Northeast Snowstorms, includes 70 significant storms and their NESIS rating.[4] The following list documents these, as well as nine post-2004 cyclones profiled by the National Climatic Data Center's list of NESIS storms.[2][5] The most common category is "notable", encompassing 24 events. Most of the storms occurred between December and March, although a few took place in April and November. The earliest rated storm is the Great Blizzard of 1888, and the most recent is a cyclone in February 2010.

Contents

List

Number Date NESIS rank Category Description
1 March 12–14, 1993 12.52 5 Extreme
2 January 6–8, 1996 11.54 5 Extreme
3 February 15–18, 2003 8.91 4 Crippling
4 March 11–14, 1888 8.34 4 Crippling
5 February 11–14, 1899 8.11 4 Crippling
6 March 2–5, 1960 7.63 4 Crippling
7 January 21–24, 2005 6.80 4 Crippling
8 February 10–12, 1983 6.28 4 Crippling
9 February 5–7, 1978 6.25 4 Crippling
10 February 2–5, 1961 6.34 4 Crippling
11 February 14–17, 1958 5.98 3 Major
12 January 19–21, 1978 5.90 3 Major
13 January 11–14, 1964 5.74 3 Major
14 February 12–15, 2007 5.63 3 Major
15 February 23–28, 2010 5.46 3 Major
16 December 25–27, 1969 5.19 3 Major
17 January 29–31, 1966 5.05 3 Major
18 January 21–23, 1987 4.93 3 Major
19 January 7–8, 1988 4.85 3 Major
20 February 8–12, 1994 4.81 3 Major
21 December 11–13, 1960 4.47 3 Major
22 January 22–23, 1966 4.45 3 Major
23 February 17–19, 1979 4.42 3 Major
24 December 24–25, 2002 4.42 3 Major
25 February 4–7, 2010 4.38 3 Major
26 February 18–20, 1972 4.19 3 Major
27 February 14–15, 1960 4.17 3 Major
28 February 12–13, 2006 4.10 3 Major
29 January 16–18, 1978 4.10 3 Major
30 February 9–11, 2010 4.10 3 Major
31 February 22–28, 1969 4.01 3 Major
32 December 18–21, 2009 3.99 2 Significant
33 March 18–21, 1958 3.92 2 Significant
34 February 5–7, 1967 3.82 2 Significant
35 December 23–25, 1966 3.79 2 Significant
36 April 6–7, 1982 3.75 2 Significant
37 March 3–5, 1971 3.73 2 Significant
38 March 12–13, 1959 3.64 2 Significant
39 January 27–29, 1922 3.63 2 Significant
40 March 3–5, 2001 3.53 2 Significant
41 February 2–4, 1995 3.51 2 Significant
42 December 26–27, 1947 3.50 2 Significant
43 January 18–21, 1961 3.47 2 Significant
44 March 2–4, 1994 3.46 2 Significant
45 February 8–10, 1969 3.34 2 Significant
46 December 19–20, 1995 3.32 2 Significant
47 December 22–23, 1963 3.17 2 Significant
48 January 24–26, 2000 3.14 2 Significant
49 December 10–12, 1992 3.10 2 Significant
50 January 13–15, 1982 3.08 2 Significant
51 March 16–17, 1956 2.93 2 Significant
52 January 3–5, 1994 2.87 2 Significant
53 March 6–7, 1962 2.76 2 Significant
54 January 3–4, 2003 2.65 2 Significant
55 March 15–18, 2007 2.54 2 Significant
56 December 30–31, 2000 2.48 1 Notable
57 February 19–20, 1964 2.39 1 Notable
58 March 31–April 1, 1997 2.37 1 Notable
59 November 25–27, 1971 2.33 1 Notable
60 January 1–2, 1987 2.26 1 Notable
61 March 18–19, 1956 2.23 1 Notable
62 March 14–15, 1999 2.20 1 Notable
63 February 16–17, 1952 2.17 1 Notable
64 December 31, 1970 – January 1, 1971 2.10 1 Notable
65 February 2–4, 1996 2.03 1 Notable
66 December 4–5, 2002 1.99 1 Notable
67 January 16–17, 1965 1.95 1 Notable
68 March 28–29, 1984 1.86 1 Notable
69 October 28–30, 2011 1.75 1 Notable
70 January 25–26, 1987 1.70 1 Notable
71 February 16–17, 1996 1.65 1 Notable
72 February 14–25, 1962 1.59 1 Notable
73 March 1–3, 2009 1.59 1 Notable
74 December 26–27, 1990 1.56 1 Notable
75 February 22–23, 1987 1.46 1 Notable
76 December 23–25, 1961 1.37 1 Notable
77 December 3–5, 1957 1.32 1 Notable
78 March 8–9, 1984 1.29 1 Notable
79 March 21–22, 1967 1.20 1 Notable
80 February 6–7, 2003 1.18 1 Notable

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Staff Writer (February 1, 2006). "Scientists devise new scale to rate snowstorms". The Reading Eagle. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PK80AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZaIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3556,43003&dq=northeast+snowfall+impact+scale&hl=en. Retrieved March 1, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "The Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS)". National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/snow-and-ice/nesis.php. Retrieved March 1, 2010. 
  3. ^ Kocin and Uccellini, pp. 269–270
  4. ^ Kocin and Uccellini, p. 267
  5. ^ In the event that information from these two sources is inconsistent, data from Kocin and Uccellini (2004) is used.

References