Hurricane Larry will produce snow measured in feet

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Yes, you read that correctly. A hurricane that produces feet of snow. It’s already been a crazy year for tropical systems, why not?

This year is already ahead of the pace in terms of storms, with 13 nominees. On average, we don’t see 13 named storms until the end of the season.
Hurricane-force winds are not uncommon in Greenland, but hurricanes that carry heavy snow are.

Hurricane Larry is expected to slide off the east coast of Greenland this weekend. When you get there, it will have sustained winds of between 60 and 70 mph, with gusts of up to 85 mph. Larry’s hurricane wind is likely to produce snowstorm conditions throughout Greenland, although then Larry could lose the tropical aspects of a hurricane.

“Larry is expected to become an extratropical cyclone on Saturday and is now expected to be absorbed by a larger extratropical minimum near Greenland by the end of the weekend,” says the National Hurricane Center.

The term extratropical has to do with the core of the storm. A hurricane has a warm core, while an extratropical (or post-tropical) has a cold core.

Cold core systems produce meteorological functions such as cold fronts and warm fronts, terms that people know best. Warm core systems produce meteorological features such as eyes, eye walls, and outer bands.

As Larry interacts with this other system, it will be able to drag a lot of moisture and cause heavy snowfall in Greenland.

A widespread total of 12 to 18 inches is expected in the eastern half of the island nation. Higher elevations along the east coast could increase by 2 to 4 feet or more.

Hurricane Larry could bring snowballs to Greenland.
While it’s rare for tropical systems to help trigger snow, it’s not unheard of. In fact, just last year Hurricane Zeta brought snow to the northeastern U.S., including a few inches in Massachusetts.
What makes Larry a little more unusual is the timing. Zeta was successful in late October. So did Superstorm Sandy, who also helped produce snowfall in October 2012.

Landing as a hurricane in Canada first

In the short term, Larry will affect the United States and Canada before Greenland.

“Larry’s significant waves will continue to affect Bermuda, the east coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada until Saturday. These waves are likely to cause life-threatening surfing and tear up current conditions.” said the National Hurricane Center.

While Larry is expected to gradually weaken on Friday as it moves through the colder waters of the North Atlantic, it is still expected to maintain the strength of the hurricanes until it passes into Newfoundland.

In Newfoundland, harmful winds, dangerous storm surges and heavy rainfall are also expected.

“These winds are likely to knock down some trees (leading to felled utility lines), cause damage and cause property damage to roofing materials, cladding, fences and exterior fixtures,” the Canadian Hurricane Center warned. “Secure loose objects on your property and anticipate power outages.”
Canada is no stranger to systems that go through the posttropical or extratropical transition, but still produce hurricane-force winds. In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Canadian Seas as an extratropical storm equivalent to Category 1.

What makes Larry interesting is that he can make landfall in Canada before moving on to the extratropical. Land is expected to arrive on Friday night or early Saturday morning in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane.

Larry is a large hurricane with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 90 miles from the center. Even after moving to extratropical, Larry is expected to remain large.

The Canadian Hurricane Center has extended the tropical storm warning along the south coast of southeastern Newfoundland to Francois and along the north coast of southeastern Newfoundland to Fogo Island.

CNN meteorologists Chad Myers and Brandon Miller contributed to this story.

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