bluewave

There have been a series of temperature jumps over the years which have resulted in changes to how the CONUS experiences their winters. We had a fairly stable global temperature regime from 1895 to 1982 with only a gentle increase in temperatures. This why the CONUS and our area haven’t had a top 10 coldest winter since then. Warming began to pick up in 1983 and gradually increased until 1996-1997. The first significant jump in 1997-1998 kicked off our all or nothing snowfall pattern with nearly all the sea seasons well below or well above average snowfall and average seasons largely missing. The all-time snowy winters patterns were able to continue up through 2014-2015 in Boston. The 2015-2016 even larger temperature jump shrank the Northern Hemisphere winter cold pool so we haven’t been able to challenge the all-time snowy seasons that we experienced during the 1993-1994 to 2014-2015 period when the global and CONUS temperatures didn’t change that much. That was the sweet spot that I was referring to when temperarures were in a colder range than today.

The Northern Hemisphere winter cold pool has really shrunk following the dramatic warming which occurred in 2015-2016 across the globe and North America. So while this was a great winter for us, it was the 2nd warmest across the CONUS. Past winters this cold and snowy in the East also had extensive cold further to our West with much colder CONUS rankings. Several years had coast to coast cold which was missing this winter. So in this much warmer world it was a challenge for places to have an all-time winter for both snow and cold. There was definitely a colder global temperature sweet spot from 1993-1994 to 2014-2015. This allowed for the all-time snowiest winter in PA during 1993-1994, our area in 1995-1996, DC to Philly in 2009-2010, Detroit and the Great Lakes in 2013-2014, and Boston in 2014-2015. None of these benchmarks were able to be approached this winter with the smaller footprint of the cold. The big question going forward is how long will it be before we see another locally cold and snowy winter near this magnitude since the last ones were over 11 years ago? Climatologist49 ‪@climatologist49.bsky.social‬ Follow December 2025 through February 2026 was the 2nd warmest winter on record for the Contiguous U.S. according to Prism climate data. The widespread record to near record warmth in the west easily outweighed the cool temps in the east. 11:39 AM · Mar 1, 2026

Interesting to see that March is still reverting to the 2020s milder and less snowy mean even following our coldest and snowiest winter of the 2020s so far. March Monthly Mean Avg Temperature for NY CITY CENTRAL PARK, NY Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending. Mean 46.5 46.4 2025 46.9 46.9 2024 48.1 48.1 2023 44.6 44.6 2022 45.3 45.3 2021 45.8 45.8 2020 48.0 48.0 March Monthly Total Snowfall for NY CITY CENTRAL PARK, NY Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending. Mean 0.1 0.1 2025 0.0 0.0 2024 T T 2023 0.1 0.1 2022 0.4 0.4 2021 T T 2020 T T

Looks like some lingering cold from the winter next few days before the pattern shifts warmer for early meteorological spring.

It was great to see Newark finally have a top 25 snowfall season following 4 higher ranking low seasons during the 2020s. Time Series Summary for NEWARK LIBERTY INTL AP, NJ Snowiest Seasons Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending. 1 1996-04-30 78.4 0 2 1868-04-30 75.3 0 3 1961-04-30 73.5 0 4 1873-04-30 71.7 1 5 1907-04-30 70.2 2 6 1854-04-30 69.3 30 7 2011-04-30 68.2 0 8 1978-04-30 64.9 0 9 1994-04-30 64.5 0 10 1899-04-30 63.5 4 - 1867-04-30 63.5 0 11 1852-04-30 63.3 0 12 1948-04-30 61.6 0 13 2014-04-30 61.1 0 14 1920-04-30 60.6 0 15 1958-04-30 58.3 0 16 1856-04-30 57.8 0 17 1923-04-30 57.4 0 18 1967-04-30 57.3 0 19 1875-04-30 56.5 31 20 1916-04-30 56.2 0 21 1905-04-30 55.1 0 22 2026-04-30 54.5 63 23 2003-04-30 53.1 0 24 1893-04-30 52.8 34 25 1857-04-30 52.0 0 1 1973-04-30 1.9 0 2 2023-04-30 2.7 0 3 2002-04-30 3.6 0 4 1879-04-30 4.3 90 5 1919-04-30 4.5 0 6 2020-04-30 6.9 0 - 1998-04-30 6.9 0 - 1931-04-30 6.9 123 7 1932-04-30 7.3 0 8 1989-04-30 7.5 0 9 2012-04-30 8.8 0 10 1901-04-30 9.8 2 11 1995-04-30 10.3 0 12 1950-04-30 10.7 0 13 1951-04-30 10.9 0 14 1937-04-30 11.0 0 15 1938-04-30 11.1 0 16 2024-04-30 12.2 0 17 1878-04-30 12.4 0 18 1876-04-30 12.6 30 19 1999-04-30 12.8 0 20 2025-04-30 13.6 0 21 1955-04-30 13.7 0 22 1992-04-30 13.9 0 - 1968-04-30 13.9 0 - 1942-04-30 13.9 0 23 1954-04-30 14.0 0 24 1980-04-30 14.3 0 - 1953-04-30 14.3 0 25 1990-04-30 14.5 0

This winter is a great example of the new all or nothing snowfall pattern since 1993-1994. A location like Islip is a prime example of this new snowfall regime. 33 out of the last 34 snowfall seasons featured snowfall over 30” or under 15”. This is in stark contrast to 1963-1964 to 1992-1993 when only 12 out of 30 seasons fell in this range. So a seasonal forecast calling for near average or mid-range snowfall has the lowest probability of being correct since 1993-1994. Monthly Total Snowfall for ISLIP-LI MACARTHUR AP, NY Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending. Mean 0.0 0.4 5.4 10.2 10.5 5.3 0.7 32.3 2025-2026 0.0 T 12.5 14.9 34.2 M M 61.6 2024-2025 0.0 0.0 2.1 2.7 6.9 0.0 0.0 11.7 2023-2024 0.0 T T 3.1 7.8 0.0 0.0 10.9 2022-2023 0.0 0.0 0.4 T 3.0 1.6 0.0 5.0 2021-2022 0.0 T 0.3 31.8 3.3 1.6 0.0 37.0 2020-2021 T 0.0 7.5 1.1 24.9 T T 33.5 2019-2020 0.0 0.1 4.2 2.5 0.0 T T 6.8 2018-2019 0.0 4.3 T 0.9 3.5 4.1 T 12.8 2017-2018 0.0 T 6.0 22.0 1.4 31.9 4.6 65.9 2016-2017 T T 3.2 14.0 14.7 7.4 T 39.3 2015-2016 0.0 0.0 T 24.8 13.2 3.2 0.2 41.4 2014-2015 0.0 T 0.4 30.2 13.4 19.7 0.0 63.7 2013-2014 0.0 0.3 8.1 25.2 24.5 5.4 0.2 63.7 2012-2013 0.0 4.2 0.6 3.3 31.4 7.4 0.0 46.9 2011-2012 0.3 0.0 T 3.8 0.6 T 0.0 4.7 2010-2011 0.0 T 14.9 34.4 3.9 2.1 T 55.3 2009-2010 0.0 0.0 25.3 6.4 21.7 0.4 0.0 53.8 2008-2009 0.0 T 10.4 8.9 3.3 13.6 T 36.2 2007-2008 0.0 0.0 2.6 0.8 7.3 T 0.0 10.7 2006-2007 0.0 T 0.0 1.0 4.2 3.8 T 9.0 2005-2006 0.0 0.5 7.6 4.7 19.9 3.2 0.1 36.0 2004-2005 0.0 T 7.0 21.5 17.0 13.3 0.0 58.8 2003-2004 0.0 0.0 15.5 19.1 1.1 5.7 0.0 41.4 2002-2003 0.0 1.0 16.0 2.6 26.3 3.7 5.0 54.6 2001-2002 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 T T 0.0 3.7 2000-2001 T 0.0 10.8 9.2 8.6 10.3 T 38.9 1999-2000 0.0 T 0.4 5.8 2.6 0.2 T 9.0 1998-1999 0.0 0.0 3.0 4.5 2.8 9.1 T 19.4 1997-1998 0.0 T 1.0 T T 1.6 T 2.6 1996-1997 0.0 T 1.2 3.3 2.2 3.7 2.0 12.4 1995-1996 0.0 3.0 13.3 20.2 19.0 12.0 9.6 77.1 1994-1995 0.0 T T T 5.1 T 0.0 5.1 1993-1994 0.0 T 3.3 8.8 20.0 5.0 0.0 37.1 Monthly Total Snowfall for ISLIP-LI MACARTHUR AP, NY Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending. Mean T 0.6 3.4 8.1 8.6 4.3 0.8 25.8 1992-1993 0.0 0.0 2.1 2.3 10.9 13.3 0.0 28.6 1991-1992 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.3 1.5 7.6 T 13.4 1990-1991 0.0 0.0 4.0 3.6 4.3 1.9 0.0 13.8 1989-1990 0.0 7.6 0.2 2.0 2.0 4.2 3.0 19.0 1988-1989 0.0 0.0 10.4 4.4 1.2 3.0 T 19.0 1987-1988 0.0 1.1 4.2 10.7 0.1 3.4 0.0 19.5 1986-1987 0.0 T 3.4 8.8 8.6 1.7 0.0 22.5 1985-1986 0.0 T 2.1 2.6 10.4 0.1 T 15.2 1984-1985 0.0 T 4.7 13.5 8.7 T T 26.9 1983-1984 0.0 T 2.6 11.9 T 13.0 0.0 27.5 1982-1983 0.0 0.0 3.2 1.5 26.1 T 1.1 31.9 1981-1982 0.0 0.0 1.0 18.1 0.3 T 16.0 35.4 1980-1981 0.0 T 0.5 13.2 T 7.1 0.0 20.8 1979-1980 T 0.0 1.5 4.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 9.0 1978-1979 0.0 4.0 T 6.9 17.2 T T 28.1 1977-1978 0.0 0.8 0.2 27.7 28.9 10.4 T 68.0 1976-1977 0.0 T 6.2 11.2 6.6 4.0 0.0 28.0 1975-1976 0.0 T 11.0 7.8 7.5 3.9 0.0 30.2 1974-1975 0.0 0.5 T 1.8 11.0 1.2 T 14.5 1973-1974 0.0 0.0 T 9.0 17.0 8.0 T 34.0 1972-1973 T 0.0 T 1.5 3.0 T T 4.5 1971-1972 0.0 T T 2.1 12.5 1.0 T 15.6 1970-1971 0.0 0.0 2.1 11.3 2.0 1.0 2.5 18.9 1969-1970 0.0 T 12.0 7.0 7.0 1.0 T 27.0 1968-1969 0.0 T 3.0 T 19.5 11.0 0.0 33.5 1967-1968 0.0 2.5 5.0 9.1 3.0 3.0 0.0 22.6 1966-1967 0.0 0.0 8.6 1.0 19.5 21.7 T 50.8 1965-1966 0.0 0.0 T 12.1 3.6 0.0 0.0 15.7 1964-1965 0.0 0.0 2.0 24.6 7.4 4.5 1.0 39.5 1963-1964 0.0 T 11.0 11.7 16.0 1.0 0.0 39.7

Just try being a little less triggered by me pointing how our winters have been changing as our climate has been warming. I am very happy how this winter has turned out as it matched one of my scenarios issued a while ago about a potential rebound winter coming after the series of duds that we had in recent years. So far my guess that it would be a struggle to reach 50” in NYC has turned out to be correct. Notice that NYC, LGA, and JFK are all in the 43-45” range and places like EWR and ISP are over 50”. Also mentioned that ISP reached over 50” in 2017-2018 and that it would be easier for them to do it again in the future which happened this year. Also pointed out how the banding effects with major benchmark snowstorms and the heat island contribute to give areas east and west of NYC more snowfall. I also believe it’s related to the terrain effects in the NY Bight allowing a snowband over NNJ and across Long Island. I also said that we haven’t had a winter near 32° since 2014-2015. So I am happy that we finally got one this year. But you will notice that we had 4 winters around 32° during the 2010s and 50”+ of snow and only 1 during the 2020s so far. So winters like this have been declining in recent years with how much warmers our winters have become. Was also pointing out how after the 2015-2016 jump in winter temperatures it would be a challenge for our region to rival 1995-1996 snowfall, PA to see their all-time snowfall matched again like in 1993-1994, places around Detroit and the Great Lakes to match 2013-2014 snow and cold, DC to Philly to match 2009-2010 snowfall, and Boston to rival their 2014-2015 snowfall. My guess why none of these locations could even come close with the extended cold this winter is due to how small the geographic area of the cold was during this winter. This was the first time a cold and snowy winter like this in the Northeast occurred against the background of one of the warmest CONUS winters and Northern Hemisphere winters. So it put those legacy winters out of reach due to how small an area was covered by the shrinking cold pool. Since I am a big winter weather enthusiast, it would make me very happy for NYC to go over 50” before the season ends. By mentioning that it would be a challenge to reach 50” isn’t the same thing as saying impossible which I would never do. The reason that I even started this discussion years ago was due to the fact that at least in NYC, they need a winter near 32.0° as a prerequisite to reach 50” of snow. I also pointed out to you that this wasn’t the case for other stations outside the heat island. So it’s necessary for NYC to average near 32.0° to have a shot at 50” but not always sufficient. The fact that we get fewer winters this cold in a warming climate shrinks the number of chances NYC gets to reach this winter milestone. We don’t really know how long we’ll have to wait again to see another winter this cold and snowy again since the last one was 11 years ago. Instead of you misrepresenting others ideas, why don’t you try to issue some of your own.

Was able to get a photo of the setting sun on the snowpack with the side lighting creating a texture that reminded me of looking down on the clouds during a flight from above.

Dude give it a rest. My comment over a year ago was that it would be challenging for NYC Central Park to measure 50” on the season and not the surrounding locations which are naturally snowier like ISP and EWR. You will notice that I never use the term impossible just how challenging something is given a particular climate state and temperature level. I am very happy how this winter turned out since it was one of my scenarios which included a rebound off the recent year snowfall lows. It’s funny how you jumped on my post in December which mentioned getting over 4-6” in December is a good sign for winter implying that I didn’t know what I was talking about. My other observation and outlook issued several years ago is that it would be a challenge to rival snowfall during 1993-1994 in PA, 1995-1996 in our area, 2009-2010 in DC to Philly, 2013-2014 around Detroit and the Midwest, and 2014-2015 around Boston. That was based on the temperature jump following the 2015-2016 super El Niño and smaller areas of cold relative to the past. But I didn’t say impossible. You will notice that this winter across the CONUS was one of the warmest ones. So the fact that the cold was compressed into the East much more than usual was illustrating the smaller Northern Hemisphere cold pool. The legacy snowfall winters from 1994 to 2015 had a larger area of cold to work with allowing all-time seasonal snowfall highs. I actually hope that NYC can measure 50” before the season ends. But NYC, LGA, and JFK sit in the heat island and also end up between the best banding during KU events over NNJ and across Long Island. So it’s more challenging for 50” measurements relative to other areas.

The issue with next Monday is the very strong high pressure forecast to be over the Northeast. So if the system ejects too soon, then it will get suppressed. But a later ejection would probably mean a front end thump to rain or mix potential Tuesday into Wednesday. Plus we could get a suppressed system Monday followed by another with mixing issues Tuesday into Wednesday.

The blizzard was the only time this winter that the GFS did so well. It’s really hard to say why this was the case. But now we are probably back to the regularly scheduled programming of the AIFS or EPS AIFS doing better. It could just be the broken clock analogy with the GFS but we may never know for sure.

Score another win for the SPC HREF as it had the heavier totals into Fairfield.

They will have to do dock and bulkhead repairs this spring and summer on the GSB following the recent ice shove event.

Yeah, looks like the usual warmer spots will make it into the 50s on Saturday.