October Storm Viewed as 'Once-In-A-Lifetime Event' By WABC Meteorologist Bill Evans

Dealing with snowstorms is nothing new to New Yorkers. Those weather systems can be destructive and deadly. But until now, they were never in October. Saturday's storm produced record-setting numbers that WABC/Channel 7 morning meteorologist Bill Evans finds mind-boggling. "It was very historical for everyone really," Evans tells FishbowlNY. The path of the Nor' easter blanketed north and west of New York City with upwards of a foot of snow. Central Park eclipsed its previous all-time October high of eight-tenths of an inch with 2.9 inches of snow. "That's a tremendous amount of snow when you consider that usually mid-December is when we should start with accumulating snows," Evans says. "We just don't see that. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event." Evans, who next month marks his 22nd anniversary at WABC, has written several weather-themed books. His recently published, Dry Ice, is about people who figure out how to make weather. This pre-Halloween snowfall comes just two months after the city was in the rare crosshairs of a hurricane. But Evans doesn't see any parallels. "This is a totally separate event... a coastal low," Evens says. "The two types of storms are actually low-pressure systems, but they're different in their makeup." Evans, says a Nor'easter, is more common, and will cause more damage in and around New York. "Not only do they cause wind and rain, and fresh water flooding, they also cause flooding at the coast at the time of high tide." Evans says. Now as the city and suburbs dig out and wait for power to be restored from a measurable snow one day after the Fall Classic ended, many wonder if the weather die has been cast for a harsh winter. "I think it will be an above average snowfall for the area," Evans says. "The National Weather Service has come out and said that." He says exploring the recent trends would indicate the potential for a severe season. Evans points to record rainfall for August and September, and for New York this could be the second-wettest year on record. "When you have these storms with all this moisture to work with, then what you're going to see is when we get the cold air in place, way more in the amount of snow," Evans says.

Fishbowl

October Storm Viewed as 'Once-In-A-Lifetime Event' By WABC Meteorologist Bill Evans

Jerry Barmash

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Jerry Barmash