Northeast Snowpack Update

After the storm last weekend and some additional mountain enhanced snowfall, our snowpack in New England looks much different from how it did one week ago.

To start, let's look at the Mt. Mansfield snow stake, located at the summit of Vermont's highest peak. The current snow depth is 36 inches, when the normal value for January 21 is 45 inches, so the snow depth still sits below normal.

Mt. Mansfield Snow Depth (SkiVt-L)

Though the Mt. Mansfield snow depth still lies below normal, as shown on the above graph, we have flattened the curve in the right direction - the vertical one.

Here's a map of the New England snow depth today:

(NOAA/NOHRSC)

The above image clearly reflects the latitude-dependent and elevation-dependent nature of our last storm. While mountainous areas have a more hefty snowpack, areas at low elevation hardly have any snow on the ground (see southern VT, where this is especially apparent).

The above map looks much different from how it did just one week ago:

(NOAA/NOHRSC)

While mountainous areas in Northern New England have seen a fairly snowy January, that has not been the case further to the south. Boston, for example, has only seen 0.2 inches of snow this month.

And as shown in the following image, the snowpack is fairly cold, and with cold temperatures continuing for the foreseeable future, the snow will stick around!

(NOAA/NOHRSC)