1994 — Jan 4-5, Nor’easter, heavy snow, East coast (esp. Northeast, esp. PA (10 deaths)-~17

— ~17 Blanchard tally of State breakouts below.
— >13 AP. “East gets whacked by storm.” Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. 1-5-1994, p. A10.

New Hampshire ( 1)
— 1 Boy on sled slides into traffic and is killed.

New York (~3)
— ~3 Western NY. Automobile accidents. NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, p. 39.
–1 Male contractor slipped on ice and hit his head on a plow.

Pennsylvania (~10)
–~10 State. Blanchard estimate.
— 10 Western PA. Heart attacks. Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. 2002, p. 65.
–~10 Western PA. Heart attacks. NCDC, Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, Jan 1994, p. 43.
–1 Butler Township, Butler County, Jan 4. Male, 50, after shoveling snow in driveway.
–1 Clearfield, Clearfield County, Jan 4. Male, 79; heart attack after shoveling snow.
–1 Homer City, Indiana County, Jan 5. Male, 76, collapsed after shoveling snow.
–1 New Kensington, Westmoreland Co., Jan 5. Male, 68, after clearing his sidewalk.
–1 South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Jan 4. Male, 77, digging out driveway.
— 1 Loyalsock, Lycoming County, near Williamsport, Jan 8. Automobile accident, male, 59.
— 1 Moore Township, Northampton County, Jan 4. Male, 35, when car slid off slick road.

West Virginia ( 3)
— 3 National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, Jan 1994, p. 53.
–1 Sharples, Logan County. Tree falls on male, 70. NCDC Storm Data, 36/1, p. 54.
–1 Cabin Creek, Kanawha County. Landslide causes tree to fall on man, 51. Ibid.
–1 Wirt County. Hypothermia, male, 65. NCDC Storm Data, 36/1, p. 54.

Narrative Information
General

NCDC Storm Data, “Outstanding Storms of the Month. 1. ‘Nor’easter’ Affects East Coast – January 4 & 5.

“A strong low pressure system, a nor’easter, brought a variety of winter weather to the east coast in early January. As the storm moved on a northeasterly track from near Atlanta, Georgia to Raleigh, North Carolina, rain turned to snow in many locations. Some locations received snow accumulations of more than one inch per hour during the early morning hours of the 4th. Charleston, West Virginia received 5 inches of snow in an hour. Other stations in West Virginia reported similar snowfall fates. Heavy snow also fell later in the day across portions of western New York state. Syracuse reported 10 inches of snow between noon and 2 P.M. and Ithaca had over six inches in one hour! The heavy snow resulted in traffic problems and the closing of schools.

“The storm also brought high winds, coastal flooding and ice to the Northeast. New York state experienced a mixture of precipitation. Over the interior sections of New York, snow and ice accumulated between 3 and 6 inches, with local amounts of 8 inches. With persistent onshore winds, tides rose 3 to 5 feet above normal which caused serious beach erosion. High winds also downed numerous trees and powerlines.

“Rapid barometric pressure changes (gravity waves) within the overall storm circulation generated a brief period of high winds in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Boston’s Logan International Airport recorded wind gusts to 66 mph from the northeast shortly after 10 A.M. The Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts reported a pressure drop of 9 millibars (0.27 inches) in 8 minutes with a wind gust of 60 mph from the northeast! The NWS Office in Providence, Rhode Island observed a pressure drop from 1000.0 mb (29.56 inches) at 8:50 A.M. to 990.5 mb (29.25 inches) 28 minutes later. Winds gusted to as high as 46 mph at Providence and to more than 50 mph at Newport…” (NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, Jan 1994, p. 7.)

New York

NCDC Storm Data, Western NY, Jan 4: “Low pressure developed over the Southeast United States and tracked northeast along the Eastern Seaboard. The low dumped heavy snow across the entire Western New York area. Snowfall amounts ranged from six to eight inches over the extreme western counties to 12 to 18 inches over the Eastern Lake Ontario Counties and the Eastern Finger Lakes Region. Travel quickly became difficult across much of the region. Numerous automobile accidents, some with fatalities, resulted. The New York State Thruway was closed from Rochester east. States of Emergency were declared in Tompkins, Chemung, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Lewis, Ontario, Yates, Steuben, and Schuyler Counties. Emergency shelters were set up throughout that eleven county area for stranded travelers and motorists. In Syracuse ten inches of snow fell between 1200EST and 1400EST and in Ithaca over six inches of snow fell in an hour.” (NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, p. 39.)

Pennsylvania

Gelber: “Snowfall rates of to 5 and 6 inches per hour were recorded at Pittsburgh and Williamsport on the morning of January 3, 1994. The greatest snowfall in Pennsylvania was 33 inches at Waynesburg, Greene County, southwest of Pittsburgh….

“In northern Pennsylvania the average snowfall was 6 to 12 inches, while the southeastern counties were dealt a nasty blow in the form of an ice storm. Hundreds of thousands of residents in southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey lost power from the storm.

“The snow fell so quickly that traffic came to a stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstates 70 and 79. On January 6, Governor Robert Casey declared a state of emergency for Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania National Guard was called on to assist in the arduous task of snow removal.

“The sheer weight of the snow caused roofs of barns and outbuildings to collapse. An NOAA storm summary, citing a Pittsburgh newspaper, reported 10 fatalities due to heart attacks in the region and 185 injuries in southwestern Pennsylvania, mostly from falls.” (Gelber 2002, 65.)

NCDC Storm Data, Western PA, Jan 4: “A major east coast winter storm left a track of heavy snow from the southern Appalachians into New England. The storm, which developed over the Gulf Coast States, tracked northeast along the Atlantic Coast. Heavy snow was deposited along, and just west of the Appalachian Mountains. The heaviest of the snow in western Pennsylvania fell in the extreme southwest corner of the State where 33 inches of snow was observed in Waynesboro of Greene County. Other snowfall reports included 26 inches at both Labelle and Irvin, 24 at Charleroi, 20 in downtown Pittsburgh, 18 at Clymer, 16 at Somerset, 15 at the Pittsburgh International Airport, 12 at St. Mary’s, 11 at Bradford, and 6 at Erie.

“The fast accumulating snow forced the closing of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and halted traffic on both Interstates 70 and 79. Traffic was backed up on Interstate 70 from Washington to Yukon, or about 25 miles. The Pittsburgh International Airport was also closed for the day, and did not resume limited operations until the 5th. On the 6th, Governor Casey declared a State of Emergency for Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties. A force of 111 soldiers and airmen from the Pennsylvania National Guard assisted in snow removal.

“The weight of the heavy snow was responsible for numerous roof collapses to outbuildings, garages, barns, and carports….

“No deaths were directly related to the snowfall, however, there were a number of heart attack victims from people trying to shovel snow. According to a Pittsburgh newspaper, there were approximately ten deaths due to hear attacks and 185 injuries from people falling on ice and vehicle accidents.” (NCDC, Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, Jan 1994, p. 43.)

West Virginia

NCDC Storm Data, Jan 4: “The effects of this storm impacted the lives of many thousands of residents for days after the snow had stopped. Rains of the previous evening [Jan 3] turned to wet snow after midnight, as a storm moved from near Atlanta to Raleigh. Heavy snow began falling during the predawn hours as the storm center reached near Danville, Virginia. A burst of snow developed over the Kanawha Valley and moved north during the morning. Charleston received five inches of snow in the one hour ending at 0500EST. Elkins reported nine inches of snow in the two hours ending at 0700EST. Parkersburg had 12 inches of snow in the eight hours ending at 1100EST. In Middlebourne of Tyler County, 11 inches of snow had fallen by 0645EST, by 0930EST 11 more inches fell, resulting in 22 inches on the ground. These snow rates were among the greatest ever reported from a West Virginia snow storm.

“Snow decreased by noon, but light snow continued to accumulate until evening. The region from Charleston north, to Parkersburg, Wheeling, and Morgantown were left paralyzed….

“With the snow burst coming after as much as an inch of rain, thousands of trees were uprooted. Trees on sloping hillsides were especially vulnerable….Fallen trees damaged many parked cars and roofs to dwellings. Travel in rural sections of Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Wetzel, and Doddridge was still nearly impossible two days after the storm, due to fallen trees. Electricity was out to an estimated 170,000 customers on the 4th, including many radio and TV stations. Even on the 8th, four days after the storm, electricity was still out to around 25,000 dwellings.

“A state of emergency declared by the governor on the 4th, lasted till noon on the 13th. Emergency shelters were established throughout the lowlands, due to the loss of electricity. Army National Guard personnel used Humvee vehicles to evacuate people or to deliver supplies like kerosene or propane to rural areas. Most stores were sold out of shovels, generators, kerosene, and sleds. Many grocery stores ran out of staple items….” (NCDC, Storm Data, 36/1, Jan 1994, pp. 53-54.)
Sources

Altoona Mirror (Kay Stephens), PA. “Don’t relax, another storm lurks on Thursday.” 1-5-1994, p. 1. Accessed 3-15-2016: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=258078968&sterm

Associated Press. “As state braces for more bad weather, Casey declares a state of emergency.” News-Herald, Franklin, PA, 1-7-1994, p. 2. Accessed 3-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=296843426&sterm

Associated Press. “East gets whacked by storm.” Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. 1-5-1994, p. A10. Accessed 3-15-2016: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=27952647&sterm

Associated Press. “Thousands are without power after ice storm.” News-Herald, Franklin, PA. 1-10-1994, p. 2. Accessed 3-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=296843462&sterm

Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Google preview at: http://books.google.com/books?id=34RKv9fMFo4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 1, Jan 1994. Ashville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Accessed 3-15-2016 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-98574E47-152A-4F56-98AF-4EE35CB4DA86.pdf

The Progress, Clearfield, PA. “Residents digging out; One area death reported.” 1-5-1994, p. 1. Accessed 3-15-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=151324231&sterm