page_title: January 2016 United States blizzard
section_title: Snowfall measurement reviews
hierarchical_section_title: January 2016 United States blizzard / Aftermath / Snowfall measurement reviews
caption_attribution_description: English: Aftermaths of January 2016 United States blizzard in Fairfax Villa neighborhood in Fairfax, Virginia.
context_page_description: The January 2016 United States Blizzard was a crippling and historic nor'easter blizzard that produced up to 3 ft of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States from January 22 to January 24, 2016. Evolving from a shortwave trough that formed in the Pacific Northwest on January 19, the system consolidated into a defined low-pressure area on January 21 over Texas. Regarding it as a "potentially historic blizzard", meteorologists indicated the storm could produce more than 2 ft of snow across a wide swath of the Mid-Atlantic region and could "paralyze the eastern third of the nation". Winter weather expert Paul Kocin described the blizzard as "kind of a top-10 snowstorm".
  On January 20–22, the governors of eleven states and the mayor of Washington, D.C. declared a state of emergency in anticipation of significant snowfall and blizzard conditions. Approximately 103 million people were affected by the storm, with 33 million people under blizzard warnings. More than 13,000 flights were cancelled in relation to the storm, with effects rippling internationally.
context_section_description: Following the storm, the National Weather Service conducted a review of eight snowfall observations following concerns over their quality. Measurements from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport were verified as reliable. The total at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was brought into question immediately following the blizzard as the snow observers lost their measuring board during the storm; however, the assessment determined that proper procedure was continued even after the board was lost and the total was considered accurate. A review of measurements at Central Park, New York,  revealed the 26.8 in (68 cm) observation was the result of a communication error and revised the storm-total to 27.5 in (70 cm)—an all-time record for New York City. Furthermore, the 28.1 in (71 cm) measurement at Newark International Airport, New Jersey, was invalidated due to measurements being taken every hour instead of every six hours thus inflating the total. The State Climate Extremes Committee also conducted a review of a potential 24-hour state snowfall record at Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. Their results showed the 24-hour observation of 41 in (100 cm) to be in error, erroneously inflating the snowfall totals. Properly adjusting for liquid snow ratios, the total was revised to 21 in (53 cm). The storm-total accumulation was also revised from 66 in (170 cm) to 33 in (84 cm).
caption: The aftermath of the blizzard in the Fairfax Villa neighborhood in Fairfax, Virginia. Unplowed streets and buried cars can be seen here.
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