It’s Been a Cold Start to May. That Doesn’t Mean You Should be Complaining

It’s fair to complain about how cold it’s felt to start off the month of May. Still, we’re often having days that struggle to get out of the 50s. But I’m sorry to tell you, things could be worse. A LOT worse.

As this May continues bringing us a steady supply of cold, maybe looking back at what happened in the past, starting with this past weekend six years ago, can warm us up.

May 9, 2020 – Cold Front Brings Snow Showers to the I-95 Corridor

On May 8, 2020, a cold rain moved in as a powerful cold front approached from the west. By midnight, the front passed, changing heavy rain to a brief period of heavy anafrontal snow (meaning precipitation that develops on the cold side/behind the front itself).

Snow struggled to accumulate, but did manage to stick a coating in many areas, which lasted briefly as the strong morning sun rose.

May 9, 1977 – Massive Nor’easter Drops Feet of Snow on Inland Areas

The 2020 event was nothing compared to the beast of a late season snowstorm that came on the same day in 1977. This storm wasn’t in the form of a late season cold front, but rather a mid-winter blizzard. 

Overnight on May 8, an area of low pressure developed over the Mid-Atlantic coast. By late on May 9, the storm deepened rapidly into a full-fledged blockbuster. The immediate coast received rain, but inland and especially high elevation areas were crushed with upwards of 10-20″.

If the totals weren’t bad enough, the incredibly late season timing of the storm made things exponentially worse. With the storm coming over a week into May, most trees had already grown out a substantial coverage of leaves. This caused the wet snow to accumulate and weigh an enormous burden on trees, bringing enough down to keep power out for weeks in some areas.

As we face yet another miserable rainy day today, we can at least think of a few ways this May’s weather could be worse.