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

     Samantha Borisoff (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Eastern Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2015

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

Quarterly Climate Impacts 

and Outlook

Eastern Region

March 2015

National - Significant Events for December 2014–February 2015

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies 

Regional - Climate Overview for December 2014–February 2015

Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)

December 1, 2014–February 28, 2015

Departure from Normal Temperature (°F)

December 1, 2014–February 28, 2015

Departure from Normal Snowfall (in)

December 1, 2014–February 28, 2015

December

January

Highlights for the East

Repeated blasts of Arctic air made it one of the 

coldest Februaries on record across the region. 

Erie, PA, tied its all-time record low of -18°F on the 

16th, while Lynchburg, VA, set an all-time record 

low of -11°F on the 20th. Below-zero wind chills 

were reported as far south as the Carolinas. For 

more details, see Climate Overview below and 

Impacts on next page. 

Multiple storms in February brought excessive 

snowfall to New England. Several sites set records 

such as all-time snowiest month, snowiest 

February, and snowiest winter. Boston, MA, had its 

all-time snowiest season (Oct–May) on record. See 

Impacts on next page for details. 

A nor'easter dropped up to 3 feet of snow on 

New York and New England from January 26 to 28. 

Worcester, MA, set its greatest one-day snowfall, 

31.9 inches, on January 27. Hurricane-force winds 

caused coastal flooding and blizzard conditions. 

A slow-moving storm from December 9 to 11 

caused the largest storm surge along the New 

Jersey coast since Sandy in 2012.

Two tornadoes touched down on December 24: 

an EF-1 in North Carolina and an EF-0 in Ohio. The 

storms damaged trees, cars, and buildings. 

During winter, the Eastern Region generally 

saw near-normal to above-normal snowfall. 

Coastal New England was particularly snowy, 

seeing more than 30 inches above normal. 

In December, snowfall ranged from near 

normal to more than 12 inches below normal. 

Huntington, WV, had its least snowy December 

on record. January snowfall was within 6 inches 

of normal in most areas. However, coastal New 

England snowfall was 18 to 30 inches above 

normal. In February, snowfall ranged from near 

normal to more than 30 inches above normal. 

Coastal New England and much of upstate New 

York saw the greatest amounts. 

The Eastern Region ended winter with 95% 

of normal precipitation. In December, the 

region saw 107% of normal precipitation. 

Eleven states were wetter than normal, with 

three ranking this December among their 

top 20 wettest. Kennedy Airport, NY, had its 

wettest December on record. January was a 

drier month at 88% of normal precipitation. 

Eleven states saw below-normal precipitation; 

however, Delaware had its 18th wettest 

January on record. February was also a dry 

month at 78% of normal precipitation. Three 

states ranked the month among their top 20 

driest. 

The Eastern Region's average temperature 

during winter was 28.0°F, 3.4°F below normal. 

New York and Ohio had their 17th and 20th 

coldest winter, respectively. This December 

was the region's 15th warmest on record at 

3.6°F above normal. Fourteen states ranked 

the month among their top 20 warmest 

Decembers. January was 2.4°F colder than 

normal, while February was extremely cold 

at 11.3°F below normal. All states ranked the 

month among their top 13 coldest Februaries. 

Despite cold conditions in the Eastern Region, 

global temperatures are still warmer than 

normal. In fact, this February was the second 

warmest on record globally. 

The contiguous United States had its 19th warmest winter on record at 2.1°F above the 20th century 

average. It was the 20th warmest December at 4.5°F above average. January was 2.9°F above average, 

while February was 0.7°F below average. Winter precipitation was 0.67 inches below average. December 

precipitation was 0.16 inches above average. It was the 18th driest January on record at 0.56 inches below 

average, while it was the 20th driest February at 0.43 inches below average. Winter snow cover extent 

was below the 1981–2010 average. It was the 14th smallest December snow cover extent on record 

(based on the 49-year satellite record) and the 18th smallest January snow cover extent. However, it was 

the 20th largest February snow cover extent.

Seasonal Snowfall

Normals based on 1981–2010
Regional - Impacts for December 2014–February 2015

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

     Samantha Borisoff (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Eastern Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2015 

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

Regional - Outlook for Spring 2015 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

Office for Coastal Management

www.oceanservice.noaa.gov 

NOAA Research, Climate Program Office and

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab

www.research.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

Precipitation and 

Temperature

Cold and Snow

A persistent trough over eastern North America 

allowed Arctic air and numerous storms to move 

through the region in late January and February. 

Exceptionally cold temperatures (see top right 

map) caused water main breaks and frozen 

pipes, while snowstorms contributed to frequent 

school and business closures, power outages, 

thousands of flight delays and cancellations, and 

a multitude of vehicle crashes. AAA Mid-Atlantic 

set a record for greatest one-day call volume

when it received more than 12,000 roadsideassistance calls on February 17. 

Ice buildup in waterways made navigation 

difficult, slowed commerce, and forced ferry 

services to be suspended. Boat traffic was 

restricted in parts of the upper Chesapeake Bay 

for about a week due to icy conditions. Railroad 

freight deliveries were delayed due to snowcovered side tracks and the need to use shorter 

trains. In New England, New York, and Ohio, 

the start of maple season was delayed by up to 

three weeks because cold and snow kept sap 

from flowing.

The cold and snow has been beneficial for one 

group: several ski resorts reported an increase in 

revenue and total skier visits this year. Sugarloaf 

Ski Resort, in Carrabassett Valley, ME, was 

closing in on its best season ever. 

Warmer than normal sea surface temperatures 

off the New England Coast may have helped 

intensify snowstorms in that region, with central 

and eastern Massachusetts hit particularly 

hard. With back-to-back storms and cold air 

temperatures, snow accumulated quickly and 

snow removal efforts were hampered. During 

three weeks in February, more than 150 roofs 

collapsed or were on the verge of collapsing 

in Massachusetts. It was estimated that the 

snowstorms cost the state's economy at least $1 

billion. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation 

Authority rail service shut down for several 

days and experienced delays throughout 

February. Boston, MA, set numerous snowfall 

records when it received 64.8 inches of snow in 

February, which is more than the city normally 

gets in an entire snow season.

Boston, MA (records to 1891)

• Snowiest February

• February: all-time snowiest month

• Snowiest winter (Dec–Feb) 

• Snowiest snow season (Oct–May)

• 2015: snowiest year

• Greatest 7-day, 14-day, 30-day, 2-month 

snowfalls

• Greatest number of 12+ inch snowfalls

• Greatest snow depth

• 6th snowiest January 

Valid for April–June 2015

A: Above-normal

EC: Equal chances of 

above-, near, or belownormal 

33/40: Probability of 

above- or below-normal

The Climate 

Prediction 

Center calls for 

an increased 

chance of above 

normal precipitation from April–June for the 

Carolinas, most of Virginia, and southern West 

Virginia. Areas marked by a 40 have a 40% to 

50% chance of being wetter than normal, a 

33.3% chance of being near-normal, and less 

than a 33.3% chance of being drier than normal. 

Areas marked by a 33 have a 33.3% to 40% 

chance of seeing above-normal precipitation, 

a 33.3% chance of near-normal precipitation, 

and less than a 33.3% chance of below-normal 

precipitation. The forecast is based on computer 

models and typical El Niño weather patterns. 

The rest of the region falls under equal chances, 

marked EC. These areas have a 33.3% each of 

above-, near-, or below-normal precipitation. 

Equal chances of above-, near-, or belownormal temperatures from April–June is forecast 

for the entire Eastern Region.

Departure from Normal Temperature (°F)

February 2015

The potential 

for river flooding 

during spring is 

near to above 

normal for most 

of the region, 

according to NOAA. 

Across eastern 

New England, 

the potential 

for spring river 

flooding is above 

normal. Snow 

water equivalents are above normal for this 

time of the year in that area. If the Northeast 

gets a period of warm weather combined with 

heavy rainfall events, then the possibility of 

moderate flooding may occur. In northern New 

England and northern New York, extensive river 

ice increases the risk for ice jam flooding. Minor 

river flooding is possible across the rest of New 

England, New York, and northern Pennsylvania. 

Ohio, western West Virginia, southeastern 

Virginia, and eastern parts of the Carolinas 

may experience minor flooding due to spring 

rainstorms. In Ohio and West Virginia, river ice 

breakup and snow melt could also contribute to 

flooding. Heavy rainfall can cause river flooding 

at any time, even in areas where the flood 

potential is considered low. Local river forecasts 

can be found via NOAA's river forecast centers. 

Spring Flood

Potential

Issued: March 19, 2015

A

40

33

Minor Flooding

ECEC

A

40

33