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Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale was created to measure snowstorms in the U.S. Northeast in much the same way the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale records hurricane intensity. NESIS, as it has been dubbed by creators Paul Kocin of The Weather Channel and Louis Uccellini of the National Weather Service, classifies storms in one of five ways that range from Notable (the weakest designation) to Significant, Major, Crippling, and Extreme. They created this measuring system due to the effects these storms have on the economy and transportation throughout the United States.
The variables measured on the scale include area, amount of snowfall, and the number of people living in the path of the storm. These numbers are calculated into a raw data number ranging from "1" for an insignificant fall to over "10" for a massive snowstorm. Based on these raw numbers, the storm is placed into its decided category.
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Achieving a NESIS rating of 13.2, the "Storm Of The Century" firmly places itself in the Extreme category. With a total area reaching, at peak, from Maine to Florida, a final total 5-50 inches of snowfall, and hurricane force winds, this storm ground most of the Eastern seaboard to a halt for days.
The Blizzard of 1996, which dropped over 30 inches of snow on Philadelphia and 20 inches on Central Park, garnered an 11.78 and the Extreme moniker as well.
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