Winter Storm Riley bombed out off the New England coast and produced destructive impacts in the East March 1-4.Coastal flooding and beach erosion occurred over multiple high tides, yielding the third-highest tide on record in Boston.Damaging winds were reported from western New York and New England to the mountains of North Carolina, knocking out power to nearly 2 million.Parts of New York state picked up 2 to 3 feet of snow, with one location receiving as much as 40 inches.Riley first brought snow to the upper Midwest and Great Lakes Feb. 28-March 1.
Winter Storm Riley became anintenseafter undergoingoff the New England coast March 2-3, producing damaging winds and coastal flooding from New York and New England to North Carolina,following a quick burst of snow in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes Feb. 28-March 1.
(NEWS: )
Riley developed in the Midwest on the last day of February, but it really took shape off the coast of New England March2-3. The winter storm bombed out off the coast of Massachusetts, bringing near-record high tides to the state and feet of snow across the interior Northeast. This second monster winter storm of the season for the Northeastdamaged seawalls and caused extreme beach erosion.
More than 1.9 million were reportedly without powerfrom the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast by the morning of March 3.
High Winds
Low pressure just off the southern New England coast underwentexplosive development known as , defined by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure of at least 24 millibars in a period of 24 hours or less. From 7 p.m. EST March 1 to 4 p.m. EST March 2, the pressure dropped from 1000 millibars to 974millibars, or a 26-millibardrop in only 21 hours.
Four different locations in Massachusetts reported winds gusts of 90 mph or more, including Barnstable (93 mph), East Falmouth (92 mph), Wellfleet (91 mph)and Nantucket (90 mph).
Wind gusts of 80 mph or greater were clocked in Scituate, Massachusetts, and at Little Compton, Rhode Island (83 mph).
Six states recorded wind gusts of at least 70 mph. Among those locations reporting 70-mph gusts or higher were Boston's Logan Airport (70 mph), Bayville, New York (78 mph), Cape May, New Jersey (71 mph), and Washington's Dulles Airport (71 mph).
Dulles Airport reported gusts over 50 mph for more than 12 hours straight, , according to the National Weather Service.
In addition to all the wind damage and power outages, these high winds wreaked havoc for some flights into Washington D.C., including and one aborted landing attempt at Reagan National Airport.
A section of the American Airlines hangar's roof at New York's LaGuardia Airport appeared to have been torn off by high winds, though the initial assessment showed the building was still structurally sound.
As of early March 3, had been received by local National Weather Service offices in 36 hours covering the duration of the storm.
The most numerous wind damage reports came in from Virginia (185 reports), Massachusetts (133 reports), then Maryland (108 reports), though wind damage was reported from Maine to North Carolina.
Avery County, North Carolina, 911 reported numerous trees downed across the county on the evening ofMarch 1. A , North Carolina, early March 2.
Winds were stillgusting over 40 mph – mainly in southeastern New England,but also in a few other spots along the East Coast –bythe morning of March 3.
Unfortunately, those gusts were still strong enough to trigger yet more wind damage in parts of southeastern Massachusetts.
Coastal Flooding
Water inundated partsof the Massachusetts coastline during the first high-tide cycle late-morning on March 2, and a second period of higher tide occurred late that night with moderate flooding observed.
Moderate flooding was observed at tide gauges in Scituate, Massachusetts, and Boston Harbor on the morning of March 2. The storm tide at Boston Harbor peaked at its third-highest level on record, only topped by in January and the Blizzard of '78.
The storm caused considerable damage in the :
A car floating infloodwaters in Braintree, Massachusetts, prompted a water rescue.
These long-lived winds blowing over a long stretch of the ocean, piling onshore, led to additional minor coastal flooding along parts of the Northeast Seaboard through March 4 in some areas.Flood waters werevery slow to recede between high-tide cycles.
Flooding at high tides through the morning of March 4 approached levels that typically produce widespread flooding of roadsin , ,,and , according to the National Weather Service.
In the , oceanside and soundside floodingMarch 3-4 inundated stretches of Highway 12 near times of high tide.
Snow
Winter Storm Riley developed into a low-pressure system in the eastern Great Lakes on the morning on March1, initially bringing snow to parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. The storm began to push into the interior Northeast late that day with heavy rain and moderate snow.
Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were observed across eastern Michigan on theafternoon ofMarch 1. Ann Arbor, Michigan, picked up 3.1 inches of snow in only 2.5 hours early- to mid-afternoonMarch 1.
Riley's snow then kicked into high gear on the night of March 1 into March 2.
The town of Wyoming, New York, east of Buffalo, picked up a whopping 24 inches of snow in the 24 hours ending themorning ofMarch 2. in parts of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania overnight March 1 into early March 2.
Richmondville, New York – in Schoharie County, west of Albany – led the pack with 40inches of total snowfall. Sixteen other locations in New York state picked up at least two feet of snow, according to .
48-hour snowfall accumulation estimate ending Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 7 a.m. EST. Snowfall from Winter Storm Riley is denoted by the square.
(NOAA/NOHRSC)
Here are the peak snowfall totals by state and other notable accumulations:
Connecticut:8 inches in Kent; 6 inches in Sharon Delaware: 1.3 inches in Talley Brook Maryland: 2 inches in Oakland and at Mountain Lake Park Massachusetts: 12 inches in Plainfield;1.2 inches in Worcester Michigan: 8.5 inches near Wixom; 7.9inches in Ann Arbor; 5inches at Detroit Metro Airport New Hampshire: 4 inches near Alstead New Jersey: 16.5inches in Branchville; 0.8 inches in Atlantic City New York:40 inches in Richmondville;16.1inches in Syracuse;12.7 inches in Rochester;12.4 inches in Binghamton; 12.1 inches in Buffalo; 11.9 inches in Albany Ohio:12.4 inches in Monroe Township; 2.7inches at Cleveland-Hopkins Airport Pennsylvania: 23.6 inches in Coolbaugh Township; 11.2 inches in Erie; 3 inches in Philadelphia Vermont: 18 inches in Weston;14 inches in Woodford West Virginia: 5 inches in Canaan Valley Wisconsin:4 inches near Lake Tomahawk
PHOTOS: Winter Storm Riley Hammers the Northeast
A man works on power lines in Morristown, N.J., Monday, March 5, 2018. Tens of thousands of New Jersey residents remain without power and emergency officials are watching coastal areas for flooding following a powerful storm. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)