March 2017 North American blizzard

March 2017 North American blizzard

Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI: 10.66)
The extratropical cyclone responsible for the blizzard near peak intensity at 18:30 UTC (2:30 p.m. EDT) on March 14 over the East Coast of the United States
Type	Extratropical cyclone Winter storm Nor'easter Bomb cyclone Ice storm Blizzard
Formed	March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
Dissipated	March 18, 2017 (2017-03-18)
Lowest pressure	974 mb (28.76 inHg)
Tornadoes confirmed	3 on March 13 (all in Florida)
Max rating1	EF1 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2	4 hours, 3 minutes
Highest gust	138 mph (222 km/h) on Mount Washington, New Hampshire
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	Snow – 58 inches (150 cm) in Bolton Valley, Vermont Ice – 0.40 inches (10 mm) in Chesilhurst, New Jersey
Power outages	100,000+
Total fatalities	16–19 fatalities
Areas affected	Southwestern Canada, Great Plains, Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley, Northeastern United States (particularly the Mid-Atlantic states and New England), British Isles
1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado Part of the 2016–17 North American winter

¹Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale ²Time from first tornado to last tornado

The March 2017 North American blizzard was a major late-season blizzard that affected the Northeastern United States, New England and Canada, dumping up to 3 feet (36 in; 91 cm) of snow in the hardest hit areas, mainly New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Southern Quebec. Forming out of an extratropical cyclone near the Northwest, the storm system dived into the northern portions of the United States, dropping light to moderate snow across the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest on March 11–12 before reaching the Ohio Valley the next day. It later coalesced into a powerful nor'easter off the East Coast, producing a swath of heavy snowfall across a large portion of the Northeast. The storm was given various unofficial names, such as Winter Storm Stella, Blizzard Eugene, and Blizzard of 2017.

Ahead of the storm, residents prepared in advance for the major nor'easter, with blizzard warnings issued for several states, including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Several officials had crews with salt trucks ready to deploy to clear roads. The system also disrupted travel across the country, with numerous flight cancellations at most of the major airports in the Northeast. It dropped a swath of moderate snow accumulation as it moved across the northern tier of the country, with as much as 13 inches (33 cm) reported. The storm was also responsible for ending a record streak without snowfall in Chicago, Illinois, where no snow had occurred since December 25, 2016.