Winter '11/'12 Complaint Thread

[frostfern]

I think Grand Rapids got the worst departure from average due to an unusual lack of significant inland lake effect events. The immediate lake shore counties fared much better with a couple good NNW flow dumps in early January.

March 3 was the slush/freeze black ice event I'm recalling. Back edge of the system that created the tornado outbreak.

[Trent]

Just wait until we have a late winter again, e.g. where the majority of snow falls in March and April. With the past handful of winters ending quite abruptly it will be a rude awakening to John Q Public even if the next year has just normal March and April snowfall.

[michsnowfreak]

Just wait until we have a late winter again, e.g. where the majority of snow falls in March and April. With the past handful of winters ending quite abruptly it will be a rude awakening to John Q Public even if the next year has just normal March and April snowfall.

So true. You have to go back to 2008 for a snowy March here. We had average snow in March 2011, but coming after that wonderful winter, it probably seemed like not much. Then of course March 2009, 2010, and 2012 were near snowless. Something we havent seen in ages but happened several times in the 1930s and 1940s was above normal snow very early and late in the season, with the core of winter (DJF) seeing wayy below normal snow. Lately we have been seeing well above normal snow in DJF, but below in N,M,A, the season still averaging above, so in a way you could say winters tend to be somewhat shorter but noticeably more harsh than they used to be (if I were to make a blanket statement like grandpa going uphill to school). Which quite frankly, Id certainly prefer seeing 150% of seasonal snowfall crammed primarily into 3 months rather than 75% of seasonal snow drawn out over 6 months.