Boom or bust? It all depends on location!

Here's a really clear synopsis of what happened with this storm, and why some areas really are experiencing all that and more - and why for other areas (like around here) it's been mostly a bust. Bottom line - location was everything with this storm. As of 9 am today, when Amherst had about 5" of snow, Boston was getting buried, and Framingham had the jackpot for Massachusetts at 30". Nantucket is currently without power, and the storm continues to rage across coastal areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. We have been getting very light snow all morning, currently a grand total (on the Amherst/Pelham border) of 6". 

How Did East Coast Blizzard of 2015 Play Out?                   (from AccuWeather.com)

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

January 27, 2015; 11:59 AM ET

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Suomi NPP captures blizzard near peak intensity as it moves over New York and Boston regions at 1:45 am EST on Jan. 27, 2015. (NOAA/NASA)

As it became obvious on Saturday that a major blizzard was going to hit the Northeast, the track and size of the storm became critical as to which areas would be hit the hardest.

The Blizzard of 2015 has hit with all its fury in central and eastern Long Island to southern and eastern New England. The storm that started off as a moisture-starved Alberta Clipper has caused major disruptions and it is not over.

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Much of Long Island and southern and eastern New England will end up buried by 12-24 inches of snow. This storm for some locations, such as Worcester, Massachusetts, already ranks as one of the top-five biggest snowstorms in history. In Worcester, the biggest storm is 33 inches set during the March 31-April 1 storm of 1997.

As of 7:00 a.m. EST Tuesday, approximately 8 inches had fallen on New York City's Central Park with 11 inches at LaGuardia Airport.

Much less snow fell in the Philadelphia area. As of 7:00 a.m. EST Tuesday, 1-2 inches had fallen on the city.

Additional snow will fall from the upper mid-Atlantic coast to New England on Tuesday.

So, what caused the storm to drop less snow along the I-95 corridor in the mid-Atlantic from Philadelphia to New York City?

According to AccuWeather.com Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "The storm was more compact than we thought it would get. As a result, the back edge of the heavy snow and strong winds were farther to the east."

Once the storm hit the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, it began to strengthen tremendously and move steadily northeastward, rather than stall. The storm also began to track a few dozen miles farther east than speculated on Sunday.

Had the storm swelled larger by 50 miles farther west, blizzard conditions would have reached New York City, and a heavy snow accumulation would have edged into the Philadelphia area.

Snow-covered roadways and vehicles in the Boston area Tuesday morning, Jan. 27, 2015. (Photo/takumamusic)

Because of the storm's compact size, relatively speaking, the heavy wet snow was limited to extreme southeastern New England.

"Dry, powdery snow and moderate wind has spared the New York City area to central New England massive power outages," Abrams said. "However, the snow has been wet and clinging, combined with high winds, in southeastern Massachusetts and has caused numerous power outages."

Additional snow will fall in the corridor from Philadelphia to New York City into Tuesday afternoon with locally heavy burst or two of snow in some cases.

Blizzard conditions will continue into Tuesday evening in part of New England.