Synthesis of surface snowfall rates and  radar-observed storm structures in  10+ years of northeastern US winter storms

Tomkins, Laura M.; Yuter, Sandra E.; Miller, Matthew A.; Oue, Mariko; Helms, Charles N.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9999-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 17

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9999-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9999-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 17

Research article

|

09 Sep 2025

Research article |

| 09 Sep 2025

Synthesis of surface snowfall rates and radar-observed storm structures in 10+ years of northeastern US winter storms

Laura M. Tomkins, Sandra E. Yuter, Matthew A. Miller, Mariko Oue, and Charles N. Helms

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9999-2025-supplement

Data sets

NOAA Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) Level 2 Base Data NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Radar Operations Center https://doi.org/10.7289/V5W9574V

Northeast US Regional NEXRAD radar mosaics of winter storms from 1996-2023, part 2 L. Tomkins et al. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hj9

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1940 to present H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

Low pressure tracks for northeast US winter storms from 1996-2023 L. Tomkins et al. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AZ5W2

Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) Collection L. A. McMurdie et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/IMPACTS/DATA101

Automated Surface/Weather Observing Systems (ASOS/AWOS) NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/automated-surface-weather-observing-systems

Video supplement

Supplemental videos for the paper "Synthesis of surface snowfall rates and radar-observed storm structures in 10+ years of Northeast US winter storms" Laura Tomkins https://doi.org/10.5446/s_1851

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Short summary

This study investigates how radar-detected snow bands relate to snowfall rates during winter storms in the northeastern United States. Using over a decade of data, we found that snow bands are not consistently linked to heavy snowfall at the surface, as snow particles are often dispersed by wind before reaching the ground. These findings highlight limitations of using radar reflectivity for predicting snow rates and suggest focusing on radar echo duration to better understand snowfall patterns.