Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisoff (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Eastern Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2014

 www.drought.gov/drought/content/resources/reports

Quarterly Climate Impacts 

and Outlook

Eastern Region

March 2014

National - Significant Events for December 2013–February 2014

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies 

Regional - Climate Overview for December 2013–February 2014

Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)

December 1, 2013–February 28, 2014

Departure from Normal Temperature (°F)

December 1, 2013–February 28, 2014

Departure from Normal Snowfall (in.)

December 1, 2013–February 28, 2014

December

January

Highlights for the East

Two major winter storms hit the region in 

February. From the 4th to the 5th, a storm dropped 

up to 20 inches of snow and 0.75 inches of ice. 

Costing $90–120 million, the storm may be the 

most expensive in southeastern Pennsylvania 

energy provider, PECO's history. From the 11th 

to the 13th, a storm dropped up to 30 inches of 

snow and 1.25 inches of ice. The storm closed 

Washington, DC, area airports, contributed 

to accidents involving 100 vehicles on the 

Pennsylvania Turnpike, left thousands without 

power for over a week in the Carolinas, and caused 

roof collapses in New Jersey. 

With a 49°F difference between the daily high and 

low on January 6, Binghamton, NY, had its largest 

daily temperature range on record. The site also set 

a record for number of below-zero days in January 

and tied the record for any month. In December, 

Caribou, ME; Concord, NH; and Atlantic City, NJ, set 

or tied records for greatest number of consecutive 

days with measurable snowfall. 

From February 20 to 21, severe storms spawned 

two EF-0 tornadoes in Ohio, an EF-0 in Maryland, 

and an EF-1 in North Carolina. The storms also 

caused structural and tree damage in West Virginia 

and the Mid-Atlantic.

December snowfall departures generally 

ranged from -6 inches to +6 inches. Maine and 

lake-effect areas of New York had departures 

of over 18 inches. During January, most areas 

were within 6 inches of normal. Parts of upstate 

New York and northern New England were 6–18 

inches below normal for snowfall, while Cape 

Cod, Long Island, southern New Jersey, and 

parts of Ohio had departures of over 12 inches. 

February was a snowy month for the entire 

region, with the greatest departures of over 24 

inches stretching from West Virginia up through 

New Hampshire.

The Eastern Region received 110% of normal 

precipitation during winter. The region wrapped 

up December at 133% of normal, making it 

the 14th wettest December on record. Seven 

states ranked this December among their top 

20 wettest. January was drier at 87% of normal, 

while February was wetter at 108% of normal.

At the start of December, 15 states had areas of 

abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions. 

Above-normal precipitation in December and 

February eased dryness, with only small areas of 

abnormal dryness in the Northeast by February's 

end.

With an average temperature of 29.1°F, it was 

2.3°F colder than normal during winter in the 

Eastern Region. December was slightly warmer 

than normal at 34.0°F, 0.6°F above normal. 

Nearly 60 high temperature records were set at 

major cities from December 21 to 22. However, 

January 2014 was the 18th coldest on record at 

24.5°F, 4.7°F below normal. Eight of the region's 

sixteen states ranked this January among 

their top 20 coldest. From January 6 to 8, over 

40 low temperature records were set at the 

region's airport climate sites. February's average 

temperature was 29.1°F, 3.0°F below normal. 

The United States' average February temperature was 32.2°F, 1.6°F below average, while the average winter 

temperature was 31.3°F, 1.0°F below average. February precipitation was 2.12 inches, 0.01 inch below 

normal. Winter precipitation was 5.69 inches, 1.10 inches below normal, making it the 9th driest winter on 

record. February snow cover extent for the contiguous United States was 1.48 million square miles, 282,000 

square miles above average, making it the 9th largest February snow cover extent in the 48-year period of 

record. Winter snow cover extent was 1.42 million square miles, 170,000 square miles above average, which 

is 10th largest.

Seasonal Snowfall
Regional - Impacts for December 2013–February 2014

Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisoff (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Eastern Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2014 

 www.drought.gov/drought/content/resources/reports

Regional - Outlook for Spring 2014 Eastern Region Partners

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

www.noaa.gov

National Climatic Data Center

www.ncdc.noaa.gov

National Weather Service, Eastern Region

www.weather.gov

NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and

Regional Offices, Atlantic

www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Coastal Services Center and National Centers for Ocean 

and Coastal Science

www.oceanservice.noaa.gov 

NOAA Research, Climate Program Office and

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab

www.oar.noaa.gov

NOAA National Sea Grant Office

www.seagrant.noaa.gov

NOAA’s North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Great

Lakes Regional Collaboration Teams

www.regions.noaa.gov

Climate Prediction Center

www.cpc.noaa.gov

National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center

www.nohrsc.noaa.gov

Northeast Regional Climate Center

www.nrcc.cornell.edu

Southeast Regional Climate Center

www.sercc.com

National Integrated Drought Information

System

www.drought.gov

Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments

www.cisa.sc.edu

Consortium on Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast

www.ccrun.org

Cooperative Institute for North Atlantic Research

www.cinar.org

Eastern Region State Climatologists

www.stateclimate.org 

#regionalclimateoutlooks

Three-Month

Temperature Outlook 

NOAA's Spring Flood 

Outlook 

Transportation

The Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT) 

used a record one million tons of salt from 

October–mid-March, compared to 630,000 

tons during an average winter. Maryland's 

State Highway Administration estimates it 

spent $130+ million on snow removal versus its 

budget of $46 million. Several states even ran 

low on or out of salt. Many areas dealt with an 

increased number of potholes this winter. New 

Jersey DOT filled more than double the number 

of potholes this January compared to last. Air 

travel was also adversely affected. Of the major 

U.S. cities, New York metro area flights were 

the 3rd most impacted this winter, with 35.1% 

of passenger flights delayed or cancelled. 

LaGuardia Airport had the highest cancellation 

rate of major U.S. airports at 10.9%. 

Valid for April–June 2014 Issued: March 20, 2014

A

EC: Equal chances of above-, 

near-, or below-normal

A: Above-normal (orange)

B: Below- normal (blue)

33: Probability of above- or EC below-normal temperatures

33

Coldest Minimum Temperature (°F)

December 1, 2013–February 28, 2014

Normals based on 1981–2010

Probability of above- or below-normal

Energy 

On January 7, several energy providers, 

including New York’s power grid, set new 

winter peak demand records. The cold 

temperatures increased demand for wood 

pellets, causing a shortage in some areas. 

Agriculture

Cold temperatures damaged wine grape 

buds in upstate New York, northwestern 

Pennsylvania, and parts of Ohio. For more 

susceptible varieties, 50–70% of wine grape 

buds were damaged, with 80–90% of buds 

damaged in harder hit areas. In Connecticut 

and Rhode Island, maple season was running 

about three weeks behind schedule in late 

February. Cold temperatures prevented sap 

from running up to and out of taps. In addition, 

deep snow made it hard to reach some taps.

Insects

There may be fewer numbers of invasive 

insects this spring due to winter's cold 

temperatures. A research project at Virginia 

Tech showed a 95% kill rate of stink bugs 

in an experiment that simulated their 

overwintering locations while exposing them 

to January's chill. In parts of North Carolina, 

100% of hemlock woolly adelgids were killed 

off by winter's cold temperatures, while in 

Massachusetts around 80% should die. A large 

die-off of Asian Tiger mosquitoes is expected 

when the average mean temperature drops 

below 23°F. Those mosquitoes overwinter 

in the egg stage, making them vulnerable to 

the cold. Large temperature fluctuations and 

subzero lows may have also caused some of 

the southern pine beetle population, which has 

been ravaging New Jersey's Pine Barrens, to die 

off. Unfortunately, the cold may have also killed 

off beneficial insects.

Fisheries

The cold weather is being blamed for a large 

die-off of speckled trout in the Mid-Atlantic. 

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries 

closed waters to speckled trout fishing from 

February 5 to June 15, 2014. In early February, 

oysters were not able to be harvested in parts 

of the Chesapeake Bay because boats that 

harvest the oysters were iced in. 

Major flooding 

in the region 

generally does 

not occur from 

snow melt 

alone, but from 

heavy rainfall. 

Equal chances 

of below-, 

near- or 

above-normal 

precipitation 

is forecast for 

spring. However, the flooding potential for late 

spring is above-normal in northern New York 

and northern New England. Snow depth was 

near- to above-normal in mid-March, with river 

ice also near- to above-normal in those areas. 

Predicted below-normal temperatures through 

March would keep the snow pack and river ice 

in place later into the spring season, increasing 

the chance of a quick melt that could cause 

flooding. In addition, the frozen ground would 

cause precipitation to run off instead of being 

absorbed. In the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas, 

low snow pack, near-normal streamflow, and 

little river ice indicate a near- to slightly abovenormal chance of river flooding. 

EC

33

The weather pattern 

that allowed cold air 

to move south via the 

jetstream over the 

past few months may 

remain in place through April. That pattern 

combined with unusually high Great Lakes ice 

cover increase the chance of below-normal 

temperatures for the Great Lakes region. For 

South Carolina and parts of North Carolina, 

computer models and a weighted combination 

of statistical forecast tools, trends, and models 

indicate an increased chance of above-normal 

temperatures. In areas with weak or unreliable 

climate signals, equal chances of above-, near-, 

or below-normal temperatures were forecast. 

As for the precipitation outlook, the entire 

Eastern Region falls into the "equal chances" 

category. There is an increasing chance of El 

Niño development from late spring through 

fall, which could influence weather patterns.