Winter '10 / '11 - Snow Storm #1 - NYC/s NWS MET Fails Blizzard Test

From the NYT...

"But for all its bluster and powder, the monster storm was technically a blizzard only outside of Manhattan. The winds in Central Park topped out at 36 miles per hour but were not sustained over a period of three consecutive hours, nor was the visibility under a quarter of a mile for that period — both requirements to qualify as a blizzard.

“We didn’t quite make the criteria in Central Park,” said Matt Scalora, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Central Park. “But we did meet the criteria at J.F.K. Airport and La Guardia,” he added."

Blizzard conditions were observed at JFK but not at LGA where the SFC visibility never went below 1/4SM.

KLGA 262346Z 35024G33KT 1/4SM +SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 262351Z 35026G37KT 1/4SM +SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 270051Z 35023G38KT 1/4SM +SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 270151Z 35026G43KT 1/4SM SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 270251Z 34025G38KT 1/4SM SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 270351Z 34027G40KT 1/4SM SN BLSN VV001
KLGA 270451Z 33031G40KT 1/4SM SN BLSN VV001