January 1996 United States blizzard
GOES-8 satellite image of the blizzard near peak intensity near the Northeastern United States on January 8 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 6, 1996 |
| Dissipated | January 10, 1996 |
| Category 5 "Extreme" blizzard | |
| Regional snowfall index: 26.37 (NOAA) | |
| Lowest pressure | 980 mbar (hPa); 28.94 inHg |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 48 inches (120 cm) in Pocahontas County, West Virginia |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 154 (+33 due to flooding after the storm) |
| Damage | ~US$3 billion |
| Areas affected | Continental United States; especially the Northeastern United States |
Part of the 1995–96 North American winter | |
From January 6–8, 1996, a deadly, historic and crippling blizzard, commonly referred to as the Blizzard of 1996 or simply Blizzard of '96, struck the United States East Coast with up to 4 feet (1.2 m) of wind-driven snow. The City University of New York reported that the storm "dropped 20 inches of snow, had wind gusts of 50 mph and snow drifts up to 8 feet high". This storm was a classic example of a nor'easter, but it would not have been as historically significant without the presence of an Arctic high pressure system located to the north of New York. It was followed by another storm, an Alberta Clipper, on January 12, then unusually warm weather and torrential rain which caused rapid melting and river flooding in the Northeast later that month. Along with the March Superstorm of 1993 and the January 2016 United States blizzard, it is one of only three snowstorms to receive the top rating of 5, or "Extreme", on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS).