Winter Report Card So Far

To put it simply, the weather over the next week will be quite boring. There are signs that changes will be coming in the medium to long term due to a phenomenon called a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), but over the next week or so, will see fairly seasonable weather with sunny skies.

With not much to talk about in the immediate future, I figured I'd give a winter report card through today (Jan 9).

Walking outside to get the newspaper at my house in CT this morning, the scene does not look very wintery.

Much of New England has a moderate snow depth, but nothing too significant, with maximum depths no greater than about 15 inches.

(NOAA/ Northeast River Forecast Center)

(NWS Burlington)

The Mount Mansfield snow stake currently has a snow depth of 15 inches, well below its January 9 normal value of approximately 40 inches.

Mount Mansfield snow depth time series (SkiVt-L/UVM)

But statistically, how has winter been in New England so far? Using data from various NWS forecast offices throughout the northeast, I put together this table, showing snowfall since December 1 for different sites in New England.

Seasonal snowfall through Jan 9 (Data from NWS)

These are major cities in New England, and we can see that the big winner so far is Concord, NH, which has seen 14.3 more inches of snow than normal this year. That is largely due to the major storm on December 17, which southern New Hampshire did very well in. Areas further north, like Burlington, VT or Bangor, ME, have struggled so far this year, seeing less than their normal snowfall.

To see how ski resorts are doing for snowfall, I recommend the site bestsnow.net.

As for temperatures, it's been a fairly warm winter in New England. The following image shows the percentiles for mean temperatures from Dec 1 through Jan 1. BTV's winter is in the 96th percentile, meaning it's having one of the warmest winters to date on record. 

(Southeast Regional Climate Center)

We can see that the further north in New England you go, the warmer it has been relative to normal.

To sum, I'd call this winter a fairly average or slightly below average one in New England so far. While it's unfortunate to see the ground bare on January 9, we have seen one major nor'easter and no extreme warm spells. For many areas, snow-to-date is above normal, though northerly areas that are accustomed to abundant snow have seen less than normal snowfall. Over the next few days, look for no chances for new snow but seasonal temperatures.

If you are looking for snow, Spain is one place to look. Here is a video that my host family from my semester abroad in Madrid sent me. Madrid, where snowfall is a rarity, is seeing its largest winter storm in 50 years.