North American blizzard of 2005

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North American blizzard of 2005

Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI/NOAA: 10.34)
Satellite image of the blizzard making its way across the Atlantic states.
Type	Extratropical cyclone Blizzard Winter storm
Formed	January 20, 2005
Dissipated	January 23, 2005
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	33.0 in Salem, Massachusetts
Fatalities	At least 12 (including 3 Firefighters from NYC.)
Damage	Unknown
Areas affected	Upper Midwest, Great Lakes Region, Northeastern United States, British Isles, Scandinavian Peninsula

The North American blizzard of 2005 was a three-day storm that affected large areas of the northern United States, dropping more than 3 feet (0.9 m) of snow in parts of southeastern Massachusetts, as well as much of the Boston metropolitan area. While this was by far the hardest hit region, it was also a significant snowstorm for the Philadelphia and New York City areas, which both suffered occasional blizzard conditions and 12–15 in (30–38 cm) snow accumulations.^[1]

The storm began dropping snow on the upper Midwest on Thursday, January 20, 2005. It slowly moved eastward affecting the Great Lakes region and the Mid-Atlantic states on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and January 22, 2005. On Saturday evening the storm entered the Southern New England area. The strength of the storm, coupled with the extreme Arctic temperatures, created a light, fluffy snow which increased the snowfall totals.

The storm shut down Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts and T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, while also impairing travel throughout much of Massachusetts due to the high amount of snow covering the roads. Practically all schools in the Metrowest and South East regions of Massachusetts were closed for at least two days. Cape Cod Community College, as well as all public schools on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket were closed for up to a week.

After traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, the storm system hit parts of Great Britain and Ireland and the Scandinavian peninsula, causing even more widespread blackouts and a small number of deaths in the region.