The term snowburst was coined in the 1960s by Prof. Robert Sykes who taught
meteorology at
SUNY Oswego, in northern New York. He used the term to describe a snowstorm that occurred December 7–11, 1958 in
Oswego, New York
Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...
. This particular storm dropped almost 6 feet of snow on the city including 40 inches in 24 hours. It was commonly referred to as "The Blizzard of '58" which was an inaccurate title, as the storm was not accompanied by high wind and the snow fell straight down.
Another Blizzard of '58 occurred earlier that year in February across
Oswego and
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League
* Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capi ...
counties. This storm was an actual blizzard due to the high winds, blowing snow and cold. 26.1" of snow was measured at Syracuse N.Y. and drifts reached 20 feet in Oswego County.
(See Thirtieth Publication of the Oswego County Historical Society, (1969) and The Climate and Snow Climatology of
Oswego N.Y., (1971)
Since then the term "snowburst" has been used to describe any heavy lake effect snowfall not accompanied by high winds. If high winds are present the conditions are referred to as "snow squalls"; and in extreme circumstances it becomes a
blizzard.
In mid January 1997 a snow burst dropped 95 inches of snow on the hamlet of
Montague, New York
Montague is a town in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 78 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Mary Montague Pierpont, the daughter of the original owner.
The town is on the western border of Lewis County. Montague ...
on the
Tug Hill Plateau. This storm included a record for the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
of 77" in 24 hours on the 11th and 12th, 40" of this total fell in 8 hours.
"Snowburst" is now a commonly used term in
meteorology, used frequently by the
National Weather Service, the
Weather Channel and local
meteorologist throughout the
Great Lakes region.
The meteorological definition of a snowburst is as follows:
"A short period of heavy snowfall, say on the order of 10-14 hours or so with snowfall rates around two inches per hour and greater. It is believed that snow frequently forms and falls out within "short" distances - say hundreds of feet. There is a tendency for the larger flakes to fall out closer to the shore."
NOAA defines snowburst as:
"Very intense shower of snow, often of short duration, that greatly restricts visibility and produces periods of rapid snow accumulation."
[NOAA http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/glossary.htm]
References
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*Lake Ontario Environmental Laboratory
Snow or ice weather phenomena