This is a classic case of strong cold air damming. Notice the persistent high pressure system centered over the northeast states. Also, notice how the high pressure ridge axis east of the Appalachian Mountains builds south all the way into southern Georgia. The event ends as a developing low pressure system moves northeast along the coastline and pulls in colder air from the northwest to mix with the air east of the mountains.
The sequence of maps for surface analysis starts at 4 PM EST February 11, 2014, and ends at 1 AM EST February 13, 2014, and is for 3-hourly increments. Note that the time specified in the lower left corner of each map is in Zulu (Z) time, equivalent to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
