Feds Rank Northeast’s Weekend Snowstorm As “Major”

Federal statistics show the snowstorm that walloped the Northeast with more than 3 feet in some places didn't add up to being that bad.

Two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration storm-rating measurements initially ranked Friday's snowstorm as 16th in Northeast history by one scale and 25th by another.

The two storm measurement systems are similar in scale to the ones that measure hurricanes and tornadoes. They rank the weekend storm as a 3 and "major" on a 1 to 5 scale. It didn't rate a "crippling" 4 or "extreme" 5.

National Climatic Data Center meteorologist Mike Squires says the storm didn't rank very high because only a small area of about 190 square miles had more than 30 inches of snow.

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