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Winter Storm Toby, the Fourth Nor'easter in March, Clobbered Parts of the Northeast With Over a Foot of Snow (RECAP) | The Weather Channel
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Winter Storm Toby, the Fourth Nor'easter in March, Clobbered Parts of the Northeast With Over a Foot of Snow (RECAP)

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At a Glance

  • The fourth nor'easter of March, Winter Storm Toby, dumped heavy snow from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast.
  • Some strong wind gusts and coastal flooding also accompanied Toby.
  • This was one of the heaviest late March snowstorms in decades in some locations, including New York City.

Winter Storm Toby was the fourth nor'easter to hit the East in less than three weeks, bringing heavy snow and some winds from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast as spring officially arrived.

(MORE: Winter Storm Central | Four Nor'easters Seen From Space)

Toby dumped a foot or more of snow in at least five states, with heavy snow stretching from Long Island to the Appalachians to parts of the Ohio Valley. 

Snowfall reports for Winter Storm Toby from Mar. 20-22, 2018. (Source: NWS)
Snowfall totals from Winter Storm Toby as of 6 a.m. EDT, Mar. 22, 2018.
(NOAA/NWS)

Parts of Long Island were hammered by up to 20 inches of snow. Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport picked up 18.4 inches of snow, with snowfall rates during the evening of March 21 of 4 to 5 inches per hour.

New York's Central Park picked up 8.2 inches of snow, the first time they had picked up at least 6 inches from a snowstorm in late March or April in 26 years (March, 19, 1992). Only early January's Winter Storm Grayson - 9.8 inches - was snowier this season, there.

(IMPACTS: Flights Canceled, Emergencies Declared)

Parts of New Jersey picked up over 6 inches of snow, including Newark-Liberty Airport (7.9 inches). Toms River picked up 6.5 inches of snow in just 3 hours on March 21.

Central and southern Pennsylvania into northern Maryland was buried in over a foot of snow in several locations. 

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had its second heaviest late-March snowstorm in records dating to 1941, picking up 14.2 inches. Only a snowstorm almost 60 years ago to the day produced more late-March snow in Pennsylvania's capital city, than Toby.

Many other locations across Pennsylvania Dutch country picked up over a foot of snow, including 14 inches in York and just over 15 inches near Gettysburg. 

Toby was the heaviest spring snowstorm in Philadelphia in 60 years, with 7.6 inches measured at Philadelphia International Airport. Only a late March 1958 snowstorm (11.4 inches) and early April 1915 storm (19.4 inches) were snowier during the spring in Philadelphia records dating to 1884.

Pittsburgh picked up over 10 inches of snow, 8.6 inches of which fell on March 21 alone, their snowiest single day since they were buried by a total of 21.1 inches of snow during the infamous "Snowmageddon" snowstorm of February 5-6, 2010

While snowfall totals around the Nation's Capital sounded modest - generally 4 to 6 inches - Toby was their heaviest snowstorm of the winter season.

Snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour were measured at Dulles Airport and 2 inches per hour at Reagan National Airport on March 21.

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The Baltimore metro area up to 7 inches of snow, with 4.7 inches measured at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Much of northern Maryland picked up over 10 inches of snow, including 16.5 inches just north of the town of Thurmont, near the Pennsylvania border.

In the Appalachians, over a foot of snow piled up in the high country of West Virginia and western Virginia. 

Accumulating snow was reported as far south as the Smoky Mountains, including 10 inches atop Soco Mountain, North Carolina, and accumulations on grass and elevated surfaces in the Knoxville metro area.

Not to be outdone, a persistently heavy snowband parked itself over parts of southern Indiana and northern Kentucky on March 21.

The weight of this wet snow downed trees in the Louisville metro, where snow was falling at the rate of 1 inch per hour.

Storm totals of up to a foot were measured in the metro, one of their heaviest March snowstorms, and nearly matching their average annual snowfall of 13.4 inches.

Stubborn dry air kept the heaviest snowfall largely out of most of southern New England. In general, most of Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts picked up only light snowfall.

A thin band of freezing rain early on March 21 brought up to 0.2 inch ice accumulation in parts of Maryland's eastern shore, Delaware and southern New Jersey, downing tree limbs and power lines in a few spots.

Overall, the combination of heavy snow and winds triggered power outages to over 100,000 customers in the Northeast. In Atlantic County, New Jersey, hundreds of trees and telephone poles were reported downed by a spotter.

Some coastal flooding was reported from the Jersey shore to eastern coastal New England. Four roads were flooded early on March 22 in Scituate, Massachusetts. The Green Harbor area of Marshfield, Massachusetts was also flooded.

Here are the top and other notable snow and ice totals, by state, from Winter Storm Toby.

- Connecticut: 7.5 inches in Greenwich; 3.2 inches in Danbury- Delaware: 4.9 inches in New Castle; Up to 0.2 inch ice in Townsend; up to 0.1 inch ice at New Castle- Indiana: 11 inches near Hamburg; 4.4 inches in Bloomington- Kentucky: 11.5 inches in Hillview (south Louisville metro); 5.5 inches near Frankfort; 1.8 inches in Lexington - Maine: 4.3 inches in Thomaston- Maryland: 16.5 inches in Thurmont; 9 inches in Hagerstown; 4.7 inches at Baltimore-Washington Int'l Airport- Massachusetts: 3.5 inches in Plymouth- New Hampshire: 2.3 inches in West Hampstead- New Jersey: 11.8 inches in Roselle; 7.9 inches at Newark-Liberty Airport; 5.7 inches at Atlantic City Int'l Airport- New York: 20.1 inches in Patchogue; 18.4 inches in Islip; 8.2 inches at NYC's Central Park- North Carolina: 10 inches in Maggie Valley; 9 inches near Wolf Laurel- Ohio: 8.2 inches in Oberlin; 3.9 inches at Cleveland-Hopkins Airport; up to 4 inches near Dayton; up to 3.2 inches in Cincinnati metro- Pennsylvania: 19.0 inches near Windber; 14.2 inches in Harrisburg; 10.5 inches in Pittsburgh; 7.6 inches in Philadelphia- Rhode Island: 1 inch in Foster and Scituate- Tennessee: 8 inches at Mt. Leconte southeast of Gatlinburg; Up to 3 inches in Fentress County- Virginia: 12.9 near Mustoe; 5.3 inches at Dulles Airport; 4.5 inches in Roanoke; 2 inches in Richmond- West Virginia: 15.9 inches near Smith Crossroads; 9.5 inches in Elkins

Cars travel on Interstare 50 westbound in Prince George's country as a late March snow storm hits the Washington D.C. region. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Cars travel on Interstare 50 westbound in Prince George's country as a late March snow storm hits the Washington D.C. region. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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