Event Summary

As a ridge of high pressure extending from north of the Great Lakes southeast across southern New England moved slowly northeast, a low pressure system developed off the Carolina coast. As this low moved north to northeast just off the mid-Atlantic coast, it rapidly intensified during Wednesday morning. This low moved across eastern Long Island during the early afternoon hours. These systems produced snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, strong gusty winds, and minor tidal flooding across the region. Light snow developed from southwest to northeast during Tuesday evening between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. It mixed with sleet and freezing rain, first across eastern Long Island between midnight and 3 a.m. and then across the remainder of the area between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. By 6 a.m., a mixed bag of sleet and freezing rain occurred everywhere with temperatures ranging from the lower 30s across eastern Long Island, to 10 degrees in the Lower Hudson Valley, to 19 degrees at Central Park. As the deepening low moved more to the northeast, cold air was locked in west of the storm track, prompting the issuance of Ice Storm Warnings for Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and NW Suffolk between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Six hour precipitation totals between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. were between 0.50 and 0.75 inches. This fell as mainly plain rain across the twin forks, and much of Suffolk County; a combo of sleet and freezing rain fell across Nassau; and mainly sleet with some freezing rain elsewhere including NYC. Light snow began during the late evening on Tuesday Feb. 13, then mixed with sleet during the early morning hours. A moderate to heavy sleet developed Wednesday morning, Feb. 14, and continued into the early afternoon before ending as some light snow. The accumulation of 2 to 4 inches of sleet caused major mass transit problems along with severe delays at the major airports.