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What if it snowed during the recent storm?

Posted: 03/16/10 at 10:25 am    Updated: 03/16/10 at 11:50 am

BOSTON -- Despite the heavy rains and flooding, many are probably thankful this storm didn't bring snow.

According to the National Weather Service, one inch of rain equals approximately eight inches of snow, meaning some areas would have theoretically seen up to 80 inches of snow from the storm. The total is just three inches shorter than Celtics forward Kevin Garnett.

7Meterologist Dylan Dreyer said that an 80-inch snowstorm is extremely unlikely, however.

“Colder air can’t hold that much water. So, if the air was cold enough to support snow, you would need temperatures, say, in the upper 20s to around 30 degrees, and you would never get 10 inches of water with colder air. So, it’s hard to equate it to a Kevin Garnett-sized snowstorm,” said 7Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer.

Even without 80 inches of snow, the area would have seen a significant snowfall.

“Either way, we are still dealing with a lot of water, and it would’ve been a blockbuster snowstorm. We would’ve seen more than about two feet of snow, if it was cold enough to support snow,” said Dylan Dreyer.

For comparison purposes, some spots saw up to 55 inches of snow from the Blizzard of '78, which is widely regarded as the most powerful snowstorm in recent memory.

Rain or snow, the storm is out of the way, and New England residents should see sunshine the rest of the week with high temperatures on Tuesday in the low 50s.

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