14/15 Winter Grade

[Whitelakeroy]

I didn't see a grade thread so I thought I would start one.  Looking at the models the end game draws near and any hope for a fun end game has passed for MBY (barring some miracle change).

 

It was looking good with a fun Fall finish with snow on Halloween, a pretty incredible 10 day period in mid-November (8-10" LES event IMBY) and I got extremely lucky to get a great white Thanksgiving at SW MI getting 8-10" LES on Thanksgiving day.  Prequel (pre-December) = A-

 

The start of winter start then turned out to be one of the worst.  Winter really did not get going IMBY until the ice-storm on first weekend of January.  December was a total loss!!! December = F-

 

January the proceeded to be an average month with at least winter sports could happen 80% of the month IMBY!  Awesome Ice-storm but lacked any decent warning snowstorms yet we nickled/dimed to an average snow month (slightly above).  Snow cover was decent but the January thaw toward the end sucked.  January = B/B+.

 

February started with a bang!!  Major storm 15-18" for SE MI!!  Then solid cold with some decent penny/nickle/dime systems.  No major thaws!  February = A/A+

 

March started with a halfway decent storm but quickly turned out to be a dud.  The back-loaded winter fail was tremendous (considering the models kept insisting it was going to get good for my area and never did).  Only redeeming for March was the snow cover we had the first 7 days.  In the end though for MBY what fell from the skies IMBY was pretty much nothing.  March = D-

 

Normally I wait till mid-April to do this but a miracle would be needed for me to change my opinion of this winter. 

 

One thing to highlight was the fact we had a good deep snow cover for several weeks.

 

My final grade: B-

 

The reason my grade is in the B range is winter sports.  This winter had many/several great weeks of winter sports activities weather.

[snowstormcanuck]

Unless we get some late loving, Toronto will end the winter below normal in terms of seasonal snowfall. That would normally force me to grade no higher than C+. However, we managed to squeeze out 2 6"+ snowstorms so I'll be generous and go with a B-.

[A-L-E-K]

one absolutely wonderful big dog, tons of cold garbage

 

C+

[Brewers]

Milwaukee

 

Nov: Stretch of record record breaking cold and some snow to top it off... B

 

Dec: Trash. Had 0.5" on the 2nd and that's it.... F

 

Milwaukee/Twin Cities

 

Jan: Saw 4.5" early in the month before I moved. Cold gave way to dry, mild and boring for the rest of the month.... C-

 

Twin Cities

 

Feb: Dry, cold, boring.... D+

 

Mar:  The mild stretch mid-month, otherwise makes up for the another dry, boring, snowless month this winter... C

 

Overall... D+

[dmc76]

Nov: A- 

Dec: F 

Jan: B- 

Feb: A  

Mar: D 

 

Overall: B-/C+ It was a good winter overall but NOT great thanks to Decembers Hot mess

[weatherbo]

In factoring my grade, I'm including snowfall, depth, and cold.

1.  In the snowfall dept, it has been below normal.  MQT is at 162.4" for the season.  That is -20.7" to date.  The season average there is a little over 200", so they're more than likely going to fall short.

Up here, I've had around 190" and this area usually averages 250-275"... some years 300".  So while nearly 200" is a lot of white, it is still below normal so far.

 

2.  As far as depth, my peak depth was 48-50".  The main thing I will remember this year was having 3' depth in mid Nov, and never falling below the 2' range for what will end up being almost 5 months.  Also, the snow pack compared to previous years seems to be retreating a little quicker thanks to the early March thaw... which adds a few bonus points to my grade.  Current snow depth this morning ranging from 27-32".

 

3.  Temps....  As a whole not too bad, but in Feb MQT not only had the coldest Feb ever recorded, but it was the coldest MONTH ever recorded at the site as well.  Avg temp was 2.8 in Feb.  Too much below zero weather for my liking.  My coldest morning being -32.

 

Final Grade B-... while it was a decent Winter, lot's of boring/cold stretches and below normal snow.

[Chitown Storm]

Twin Cities:

It started off with a swing and a miss for the early November storm. Predicted 10-15" and ended with less than 3". Cold, dry as hell, 20" below normal snowfall, biggest event was 3.6" all winter. The conditions made for great ice for hockey on the lake. That's the only saving grace. Paying $300/mo heating bills as I stared at bare ground did nothing for me this winter.

Final grade: D-

[OHweather]

Cleveland:

November: 3 decent lake effect snow events and one moderate synoptic event. 4th snowiest November. A

December: Nothing. F

January: Several light snow events and a couple of moderate events. Persistent cold helped build a decent snow pack by the end of the month. B-

February: 7-11" synoptic storm along lakeshore to start month, but lighter amounts inland. Several light to moderate events. Coldest February, second coldest month, 7th snowiest February even with shoddy measuring. Persistent very deep snow pack. A (can't go A+ due to no area wide big dog, Super Bowl storm screwed areas just south of Cleveland)

March: 3-6" snow event to start month gave way to relatively cool but snowless conditions. D

Overall for Cleveland: B/B-

Athens:

November: A few events produced snow showers but can't expect much here in November. C-

December: F

January: 4-5" clipper early in the month, a few light events later in the month. Fairly cold but no sustained snow cover. C-

February: Several light events and two moderate (4-6") events. Persistent cold and decent snow pack for so far south. A- (graded highly because we got close to our seasonal average in one month)

March: 8-12" big dog early in month. The rest of the month sucked but you can't ask for a much better storm here in March. A-

Overall: B-

Overall for me: C- because I missed both Cleveland's and Athens biggest storms by 2 days or less (left Cleveland a few hours into the Super Bowl storm and came back to Athens two days after early March big dog) and those two events boosted the grade for each location.

[Hoosier]

B-

[Stebo]

B, would have liked another decent storm in the mix but we had our 3rd largest storm ever so I can't rightfully grade any lower.

[ukrocks]

November: Picked up a rare four inches of snow on the 16th. Grade: A+

 

December: I might have saw a flurrie here and there. Grade: F

 

January: Saw a few dustings here and there. Grade: D

 

Feburary: Picked up eight inches with the first big dog and then got another three inches of snow two days later. The snow stayed on the ground for 15 days. Grade: A+

 

March: After seeing grass for a day and hitting 60 degrees, I picked up 10.5 inches of snow with the second big dog. It was gone within five days, oh well, it's March. Grade: A+

 

Late fall and late winter was great. In between? Meh. The rare November snowfall and the two big dogs in February and March saved this winter. We usually only get about 12 inches of snow, I received 26 inches, more than double the average. No complaints other than December and January.

 

Overall grade: A-

[Powerball]

A-

Would be higher if not for the hellish cold...

[hawkeye_wx]

B-

 

Got the brunt of the Superbowl storm and two potent clippers.  Unfortunately, that was pretty much it the entire winter.  March could have helped, but the western edge of the subforum didn't get anything (only 0.8" of snow on 3/3).  My final snowfall total will be slightly below average.

[nwohweather]

Played more pond hockey this winter than ever before and seeing the big dog 13" storm on Super Bowl Sunday was pretty neat but it was really cold from November on, just relentless

[blizzardof96]

Unless we get some late loving, Toronto will end the winter below normal in terms of seasonal snowfall. That would normally force me to grade no higher than C+. However, we managed to squeeze out 2 6"+ snowstorms so I'll be generous and go with a B-.

Without the GHD snowstorm, this winter would be no better then a C+ IMO. The combo of 2/2/15 and 12/11/14 brings it up to a B-/B for me. Besides those events, it left little snow, brutal cold and much to be desired.

 

Winter saved by the last minute NW shift.

 

Dec: B-

Jan: C

Feb: B+

March: F

[Geos]

Dec: F

Jan: C

Feb: A

Mar: B-

 

If it wasn't for the long boring stretches in January and the snowless December I would give this winter an A. Overall I give this winter a B- and that's only because of the Superbowl Blizzard - otherwise it would have ended up as a C-/D+.

[DAFF]

A- .... Only this high because of the sustained base of 12" of snow which stuck around for so long. Without that one big storm the tone of winter would of been depressing and C- grade would of been in order.

[cyclone77]

A- overall.

 

Nov: A

Dec: F-

Jan: B

Feb: A+ 

Mar: F+

 

Just like in 2011, we were basically done after the Feb 1-2 storm.  Despite that, the very long stretches of benign weather region wide, and no measurable snow in Dec ( a first for me) I gotta go A- with such a nice storm in early Feb.  We also ended up above average for the season too which helps.

 

If we wouldn't have had the GHDII storm this would have been the 4th winter in row without a 6"er, as no other storms dropped 6".  The grade would have been F- for a 2nd winter in a row.

[snowlover2]

I'd have to give it a C. Had a few decent events but nevet got a big dog.

[BuffaloWeather]

A+ for snow

C- for Cold

 

I'll give it a B+

[IWXwx]

I'll start out with a B+ for quite a few inches above average snow. However, with only one 6"+ snowstorm (which is climo) and only two 4" snows, that knocks my grade down. The horrible December also knocks it down some. So, snowwise, I'll go with a B-.

 

I also factor in temps and since I hate bitter cold, this winter rates a solid D.

 

So as an overall grade, I'll go with a C.

[snowstormcanuck]

Without the GHD snowstorm, this winter would be no better then a C+ IMO. The combo of 2/2/15 and 12/11/14 brings it up to a B-/B for me. Besides those events, it left little snow, brutal cold and much to be desired.

 

Winter saved by the last minute NW shift.

 

Dec: B-

Jan: C

Feb: B+

March: F

 

I'd give November an A. A couple of light accum snowfalls is pretty much the best case scenario for that month 'round these parts. I concur with the rest of your grades, except I'd settle with a D for March.

 

The one thing that seems to be becoming axiomatic...February will produce. It's our golden month. Except for in the most horrible of winters, like 2011-12, you can basically pencil in a min of 14" of snow and be right 8.5/10 times.

[stormtrackertf]

A-

Would be higher if not for the hellish cold...

Agreed. Last winter was an A+ to me just because of the many great snow storms even though it also had brutal cold.

Any year with a top 3 snowstorm can't be lower than an A- for me.

[blizzardof96]

I'd give November an A. A couple of light accum snowfalls is pretty much the best case scenario for that month 'round these parts. I concur with the rest of your grades, except I'd settle with a D for March.

 

The one thing that seems to be becoming axiomatic...February will produce. It's our golden month. Except for in the most horrible of winters, like 2011-12, you can basically pencil in a min of 14" of snow and be right 8.5/10 times.

Yea, Nov was pretty awesome this year. 

 

The Feb big dogs since 06-07 speak for themselves. By comparison the last 6"+ event at north york station in Jan is 1/22/05 and 1/26/04 at YYZ.

 

GHDII

2/5/14

2/8/13

GHD(a dud but still decent)

2/6/08

[snowstormcanuck]

Yea, Nov was pretty awesome this year. 

 

The Feb big dogs since 06-07 speak for themselves. By comparison the last 6"+ event at north york station is 1/22/05 and 1/26/04 at YYZ.

 

GHDII

2/5/14

2/8/13

GHD(a dud but still decent)

2/6/08

 

I'm assuming you're referring to Januaries? That's really incredible to go a decade without a January snowstorm. YYZ did get a 6"er in Jan 2011, that was that freak LES event.

[blizzardof96]

I'm assuming you're referring to Januaries? That's really incredible to go a decade without a January snowstorm. YYZ did get a 6"er in Jan 2011, that was that freak LES event.

Ya, that was my intension.

 

It's ironic that a very synoptic centric city's only Jan snowstorm in the last ten years comes straight from the lake.

[Jim Marusak]

Twin Cities, C-/D+ . we had the seasonal cold and we had a couple of systems come through. but nothing too big snowfall-wise in the cities themselves as that went all around us.

 

central and northern MN, they were closer to a C+ range given that they had a couple of larger snow dumps.

[michsnowfreak]

Most people seem to do monthly, so a monthly breakdown of my grades would be:

Nov: A

Dec: F

Jan: B+

Feb: A+

Mar: B+

 

However...I need to make clear I DO NOT grade based upon an equal distribution of the months (someone joked about my generous grading curve in the other thread where we discussed grades some).

 

I am more like Bo, my grade is based upon a number of other things in the winter overall. Order of importance would be: Snowcover, snowfall frequency, snowstorms, cold.

 

Snowfall frequency was about average, total snowfall a bit above average but not nearly as above as many recent years have been. Another thing was the amount of large snowstorms, those too were not in abundance as they had been in many recent winters as there was only one biggie this year, however it was the biggest storm of life at 16.5". The cold we saw in February was unlike anything id ever seen before from a sustained standpoint, and unlike many others, I found the arctic air invigorating. Lastly and most importantly, snowcover was excellent. Not just from a sustained standpoint, but how deep it was. The lasting length of deep snowpack would have been unlike anything Detroit had ever seen had it not been for the epic winter last year, so instead its a distant 2nd (but again, far better than anything else wed seen pre-2013). Which really puts the 2013-14+2014-15 winters in uncharted waters for the outdoor winter rec enthusiast in SE MI. I could have given this winter a solid A if not for the disaster December.

 

2014-15 final grade: A-

[michsnowfreak]

A- overall.

 

Nov: A

Dec: F-

Jan: B

Feb: A+ 

Mar: F+

 

Just like in 2011, we were basically done after the Feb 1-2 storm.  Despite that, the very long stretches of benign weather region wide, and no measurable snow in Dec ( a first for me) I gotta go A- with such a nice storm in early Feb.  We also ended up above average for the season too which helps.

 

If we wouldn't have had the GHDII storm this would have been the 4th winter in row without a 6"er, as no other storms dropped 6".  The grade would have been F- for a 2nd winter in a row.

Did you really give last winter an F- with 53.5" of snow?

[michsnowfreak]

I'd give November an A. A couple of light accum snowfalls is pretty much the best case scenario for that month 'round these parts. I concur with the rest of your grades, except I'd settle with a D for March.

 

The one thing that seems to be becoming axiomatic...February will produce. It's our golden month. Except for in the most horrible of winters, like 2011-12, you can basically pencil in a min of 14" of snow and be right 8.5/10 times.

I pretty much dont even know what to say about February anymore. The longterm avg from 1881 to 2002 for Detroit was 9.0" for Feb. Its incredible that you can take a database going back to 1881, and the average jumps from 9.1" using 1881 to 2006.....to....9.8" using 1881 to 2015.

 

2003: 19.2"

2004: 0.9"

2005: 12.5"

2006: 3.8"

2007: 14.1"

2008: 24.2"

2009: 8.5"

2010: 27.0"

2011: 31.7"

2012: 10.2"

2013: 23.5"

2014: 23.4"

2015: 26.4"