The National Weather Service announced at 5:41pm that the official requirements for classifying the Jan 29 storm as a blizzard were met at a number of (mostly airport) observation stations, including Providence (KPVD), Westerly (KWST), Newport (KUUU), and Block Island (KBID) in RI and Boston (KBOS), Worcester (KORH), Beverly (KBVY), Hyannis (KHYA), Marshfield (KGHG), and Martha’s Vineyard (KMVY) in MA. Several stations stopped reporting wind, visibility, or other data, and as a result whether blizzard criteria were met could not be determined at Smithfield (KSFZ) in RI and Chatham (KCQX), Falmouth (KFMH), and Provincetown (KPVC) in MA.
Blizzard conditions are defined as snow falling or blowing that reduces visibility below one-quarter mile combined with winds that frequently gust to 35MPH or more, reported as the predominant weather for at least three consecutive hours. Winds reached hurricane force on Cape Ann, Cape Cod, and Nantucket in MA. Totals of one to two feet of snow were common across the region.
Additional stations may be determined to have also met blizzard criteria and may be added to the list early next week.
