April 17th-18th Late Season SNOW Event

[SpartyOn]

The good part is since we've been screwed (on a relative basis) in the severe weather and heat department during these snowy times an awful winter whenver it does come would give way to quite the summer severe weather and heat wise, AKA my type of summer.

Mine too!

[michsnowfreak]

The good part is since we've been screwed (on a relative basis) in the severe weather and heat department during these snowy times an awful winter whenver it does come would give way to quite the summer severe weather and heat wise, AKA my type of summer.

The 1990s were great times for severe weather, when the winters were not that snowy. Then the 2000s, the severe weather slackened off noticeably, while snowfall really increased (and rainfall as well). So it does seem to be that weird theme of either great times for severe or snow, not both (although...there were certainly snowy spells in the 1990s and severe outbreaks in the 2000s, Im just going by the general theme). For ME, I say let it keep on keeping on, snowy winters and I can take or leave severe weather.

[turtlehurricane]

Yes it does matter from a statistical point of view. Had DTW gotten the 1.5" that was reported a little before the snow ended, it would have put the season at 6th place at 69.0", but since they ended with 1.6" and a season total of 69.1", it ties for 5th place.

You will get no argument from me that there is a margin of error with measuring snowfall. Hell, snowfall is one of the most interesting statistics to me, but I will admit the margin of error can be huge, especially in wind-driven events, changeover events, very wet or very fluffy snow events. Some of those big storms that have struck the east the past few winters, glancing at some of the measurments and comparing them to nearby areas, it wouldnt surprise me if many of them were off by several INCHES let alone several tenths (either way, but probably more on the inflated side rather than the lowballed sided, due to drifting).

I also am the first to say that pure seasonal snowfall amount is FAR from the sole factor in determining how great a winter is. For many, the biggest snowstorm matters, for me its snowcover (which in 2010-11 was the best locally Ive ever seen). So had 1.5" fallen at DTW versus 1.6" yesterday, it would have meant nothing in terms of how great the winter was....but in this case it DOES mean something for where it ranks.

Bottom line, that same margin of error was there in the winter of 1899-00 when 69.1" also was recorded at Detroit. Weather statistics interest many of us on this board, and to say that margin of error means it doesnt matter from a statistical point of view is just plain silly. Whatever the official station comes in with does matter to the exact tenth of an inch when you are talking season rankings, and most major cities in our region have seen at least 5 of the past 10 winters end up in the "top XX snowiest" ranking. Do we disregard the Feb blizzard as being Chicagos 3rd biggest snowstorm on record, and just say it was a great storm, because measuring was so difficult? Of course not. And also, how many times have we seen on these boards someone mad because the official station near them came in with what they felt was a lowballed measurment? To the public, the exacts dont matter. But for official snowfall statistics, every single tenth of an inch (or lack there of) matters!

I think what you're saying is it's ok since it's the only way to rank winters. The laws of statistics still apply however, and I bet the standard error is at least +-5 inches, making ranking winters based on such things statistically insignificant. It's fun to do, but somewhat worthless.

[Powerball]

I think what you're saying is it's ok since it's the only way to rank winters. The laws of statistics still apply however, and I bet the standard error is at least +-5 inches, making ranking winters based on such things statistically insignificant. It's fun to do, but somewhat worthless.

Meh, to each his/her own.

[Powerball]

The 1990s were great times for severe weather, when the winters were not that snowy. Then the 2000s, the severe weather slackened off noticeably, while snowfall really increased (and rainfall as well). So it does seem to be that weird theme of either great times for severe or snow, not both (although...there were certainly snowy spells in the 1990s and severe outbreaks in the 2000s, Im just going by the general theme). For ME, I say let it keep on keeping on, snowy winters and I can take or leave severe weather.

I suspect a huge part of the reason for the slackened severe weather during these snowy times (versus the opposite) is because of the excess soil moisture from all of our snow. The air heats much better when the ground is dry. That probably explains the drastically cloudier summers we've been having too (despite all the heat last summer only 9 days were mostly sunny) which in effect tempers severe weather development as that soil moisture goes through the evapotranspiration stage and taps that low-mid level inversion (since we haven't had the oppourtnity to heat up and mix out that low level moisture),

[Hoosier]

I suspect a huge part of the reason for the slackened severe weather during these snowy times (versus the opposite) is because of the excess soil moisture from all of our snow. The air heats much better when the ground is dry. That probably explains the drastically cloudier summers we've been having too (despite all the heat last summer only 9 days were mostly sunny) which in effect tempers severe weather development as that soil moisture goes through the evapotranspiration stage and taps that low-mid level inversion (since we haven't had the oppourtnity to heat up and mix out that low level moisture),

That is probably a stretch.