Grade the Winter of 2014-2015

[CoastalWx]

Yes, That was included in the 7 day stretch of 49" here, But like i said, We received less then 30" the rest of the way over 15 events, If i was living in Eastport, We would need an A++ category

Eastport is on a whole other level. Unimaginable.

[Damage In Tolland]

My only desire...or better said...what I would prefer.. if we had the option..I would much prefer a front loaded winter rather than back loaded. I'd prefer super cold and 100 inches of snow starting from late Nov into early Feb. The days are shorter, sun angle low..and you don't have to worry about many things like you do from mid Feb on when cars are heating up inside from sun and pack melts quicker in shade. I wish we all could have had that 100+ inches during the first part of winter rather than the 2nd half. Not a Dec 89..because that was all cold and no snow..Basically what we just had except reverse the time from back to front

[dryslot]

Eastport is on a whole other level. Unimaginable.

 

The difference is, They never missed a single event, And your area fits a good part of that as well

[CoastalWx]

The difference is, They never missed a single event, And your area fits a good part of that as well

Things even out. This area was relatively pedestrian in 07-08 when you got smoked too. Eventually that winter or something similar comes again.

I very well aware of climo in these parts. I've been grounded and pretty humble during all those storms. You won't see me post a snow algorithm jackpotting this area, or a tweet of a NWS snow map with purple colors over my house. I'm well aware how things go around here because next winter could be the opposite so I just sit here and take it all in. I enjoyed it immensely. And if we get a 2000-2001 redux next year with codfishsnowman running nude across the CT River....I'll cheer him on.

[dryslot]

Things even out. This area was relatively pedestrian in 07-08 when you got smoked too. Eventually that winter or something similar comes again.

I very well aware of climo in these parts. I've been grounded and pretty humble during all those storms. You won't see me post a snow algorithm jackpotting this area, or a tweet of a NWS snow map with purple colors over my house. I'm well aware how things go around here because next winter could be the opposite so I just sit here and take it all in. I enjoyed it immensely. And if we get a 2000-2001 redux next year with codfishsnowman running nude across the CT River....I'll cheer him on.

 

I don't have a jack fetish as it happens very rarely here, That is certainly not part of my criteria, I would have given it an F if it was winter 2009/10......lol, If this was 2007/08 i would most definite give it an A+, But that set a record as well, And would figure into the grade

[CoastalWx]

My only desire...or better said...what I would prefer.. if we had the option..I would much prefer a front loaded winter rather than back loaded. I'd prefer super cold and 100 inches of snow starting from late Nov into early Feb. The days are shorter, sun angle low..and you don't have to worry about many things like you do from mid Feb on when cars are heating up inside from sun and pack melts quicker in shade. I wish we all could have had that 100+ inches during the first part of winter rather than the 2nd half. Not a Dec 89..because that was all cold and no snow..Basically what we just had except reverse the time from back to front

It definitely would be nice to have more snow in December and early January, but man for this area....I can't sacrifice what I went through for anything. I still find myself drawn to looking at my pics.

[Quincy]

My only desire...or better said...what I would prefer.. if we had the option..I would much prefer a front loaded winter rather than back loaded. I'd prefer super cold and 100 inches of snow starting from late Nov into early Feb. The days are shorter, sun angle low..and you don't have to worry about many things like you do from mid Feb on when cars are heating up inside from sun and pack melts quicker in shade. I wish we all could have had that 100+ inches during the first part of winter rather than the 2nd half. Not a Dec 89..because that was all cold and no snow..Basically what we just had except reverse the time from back to front

You don't appreciate snow and ice cover lasting well into early spring? Aside from maybe some mood snow for Christmas, I think people in general would like to have less disruption during the holidays // Thanksgiving to Christmas // from extreme cold and excessive snow.

[Cold Miser]

You don't appreciate snow and ice cover lasting well into early spring? Aside from maybe some mood snow for Christmas, I think people in general would like to have less disruption during the holidays // Thanksgiving to Christmas // from extreme cold and excessive snow.

meh.

[powderfreak]

You don't appreciate snow and ice cover lasting well into early spring? Aside from maybe some mood snow for Christmas, I think people in general would like to have less disruption during the holidays // Thanksgiving to Christmas // from extreme cold and excessive snow.

 

I don't know if I agree with that... it makes sense in theory, but if you talk to folks who aren't snow lovers or winter weather fans, most say the only time they like it is around the holidays.  There isn't one person out there, even folks violently opposed to snow, who doesn't seem to get some enjoyment out of snow on the ground leading up to Christmas. 

 

I actually think its after the holidays that the public is already done with winter. 

 

I'm with Kevin though... I'd much rather have a big December and January over February and March.  Those days when its only light out from like 8am until 4pm...holiday lights on everything...bring the snow then. 

[ORH_wxman]

Yep. I agree. I made no secret that I penalized this winter a bit for the complete failure around and leading up to Christmas. I love snow during that time. I know that we often get thaws then but even a couple advisory events or something goes a long way. Even if they melt before Xmas day itself. We had nothing. Maybe a couple events under an inch that melted in a day.

[Damage In Tolland]

I don't know if I agree with that... it makes sense in theory, but if you talk to folks who aren't snow lovers or winter weather fans, most say the only time they like it is around the holidays. There isn't one person out there, even folks violently opposed to snow, who doesn't seem to get some enjoyment out of snow on the ground leading up to Christmas.

I actually think its after the holidays that the public is already done with winter.

I'm with Kevin though... I'd much rather have a big December and January over February and March. Those days when its only light out from like 8am until 4pm...holiday lights on everything...bring the snow then.

Yeah just something magical about early - mid winter snow vs late. You just know it will last and you've got plenty more to track. In March when it's light out at 8:00 at night.. Well that just ruins the mood and you think .. The clock is ticking .. Before you know it.. It's dawn and 40 by 10:00 am

[HoarfrostHubb]

Yeah just something magical about early - mid winter snow vs late. You just know it will last and you've got plenty more to track. In March when it's light out at 8:00 at night.. Well that just ruins the mood and you think .. The clock is ticking .. Before you know it.. It's dawn and 40 by 10:00 am

Seasons in seasons

[ORH_wxman]

Yeah just something magical about early - mid winter snow vs late. You just know it will last and you've got plenty more to track. In March when it's light out at 8:00 at night.. Well that just ruins the mood and you think .. The clock is ticking .. Before you know it.. It's dawn and 40 by 10:00 am

 

If it is early December, the snow often melts...so in that sense it doesn't really last like it does in January/February.

[Damage In Tolland]

If it is early December, the snow often melts...so in that sense it doesn't really last like it does in January/February.

Only if we get a screamer.. if it's just normal temps or colder than normal with low dews you can easily retain nice pack in early Dec..But that also seems to be the month we are most susceptible to screaming soueasters and storms cutting for DET

[CoastalWx]

Holiday snow is always magical. I'm so sick and tired of these Grinch torches.

[ORH_wxman]

Only if we get a screamer.. if it's just normal temps or colder than normal with low dews you can easily retain nice pack in early Dec..But that also seems to be the month we are most susceptible to screaming soueasters and storms cutting for DET

 

 

Yes there's a reason for that...PJ placement is just further north.

 

 

Sun angle is at a minimum, so yeah...IF we keep temps reasonable, it stays around, but we are just so much more susceptible to the cutters.

 

We've been kind of unlucky recently too...even accounting for that. We've had a lot of cutters right near Christmas which is an odd anomaly. Hopefully we avoid one for like 5 years in a row to even it out.

[Damage In Tolland]

Yes there's a reason for that...PJ placement is just further north.

 

 

Sun angle is at a minimum, so yeah...IF we keep temps reasonable, it stays around, but we are just so much more susceptible to the cutters.

 

We've been kind of unlucky recently too...even accounting for that. We've had a lot of cutters right near Christmas which is an odd anomaly. Hopefully we avoid one for like 5 years in a row to even it out.

Maybe we'll get 5 straight snowstorms on Xmas to even it out.

[weathafella]

To bolster Kevin's argument, we had deep cover by mid December 1960 and my recollection is held deep into February 1961.

[nzucker]

If it is early December, the snow often melts...so in that sense it doesn't really last like it does in January/February.

That's why 10-11 was awesome...the biggest snowfalls were from December 26th to February 2nd, ideal timing for maintaining a large snow pack. I believe that winter had the second longest period of snow cover in Central Park, behind only 47-48.

 

13-14 was also great because the big storms were 1/3, 1/21, 2/2 and 2/13; this also represents the meat of the snow pack season. Those four events combined for 43" in Brooklyn where I lived out of 58" seasonal total. There was a brief loss of snow cover in mid-January and again before the Groundhog Day storm, but snow pack around my area was in the 20-30" range by mid-late February.

 

There's a small window for snow retention for those of us who live on the coastal plain. Early December is too early because average temperatures are too high to maintain snow cover, with average highs on December 1st usually in the 44-48F range for the BOS-NYC corridor. It usually takes until about Christmas time until snow can be reliably retained. By late February, averages aren't as high but the sun angle is a significant issue as melting takes place after February 15th even if maximum temperatures remain below freezing.

 

This year was an ideal example. Snow cover wasn't achieved until January 23rd. Large events on 1/26, 2/9, 2/15 produced a formidable snow pack, and -12F departures in February as well as -5F departures in March helped keep temperatures below freezing and often sub-zero, with NYC getting to 2F at the very end of February, nearly unheard of that late. However, even as my snow pack was 20" on March 7th, it was mostly gone by March 18th despite below average temperatures. Predictions of solid snow cover lasting until early April were, once again, a fantasy. Even with two feet on the ground and cold weather. Sure, having snow on the ground from 1/23-3/18 is very impressive for my area. But the cold season started a little too late for ideal snow pack. A month earlier would have caused us to set snow pack records for sure. It didn't happen because once we received our first significant snowfall on 1/23, only about 3 weeks legitimately remained in the retention season. It's all downhill from there, regardless of how much is on the ground.

[tamarack]

Well you got nailed in the big jan blizzard. That has to count for something. At least you didn't miss that.

 

Neither did my place - a great windblown event, or so my neighbors told me.  I was in SNJ waiting for 12-16" - would've been their biggest since 2010 and the biggest my grandkids had ever seen.  We got 1.5", yet another bust that verified at 1/8 the low end of the forecast (along with Nov. 2, Dec 7-9, and Feb 14-15.)  However, the 20" of 9:1 sugar from that blizzard set up a run of 20"+ snow depth that lasted thru April 1, which helps the grade.  Not helping was the early date for peak depth, Feb 2 rather than the avg of 2/28 or 3/1.  Having 31" by groundhog day generally points to a big snowpack winter.  If someone had told me that the next 9 weeks would have 55 of 63 days with BN temps (and avg 9F BN) but the pack would never again reach 31", I'd have said he was nuts.

[powderfreak]

We've been kind of unlucky recently too...even accounting for that. We've had a lot of cutters right near Christmas which is an odd anomaly. Hopefully we avoid one for like 5 years in a row to even it out.

 

What's interesting about that, is do you remember those graphs that were posted that actually showed some long-term climo spots in New England have an increased temperature anomaly right around Christmas?  Vermont Public Radio and Eye on the Sky posted temperature data for St Johnsbury, VT (which has records back to the 1800s) and showed a full 2F increase in mean temperatures for a few days around Christmas. 

 

There has to be a reason for that...it cannot just be random over that long of a data-set.  I'll see if I can find the graph on social media.

[Damage In Tolland]

What's interesting about that, is do you remember those graphs that were posted that actually showed some long-term climo spots in New England have an increased temperature anomaly right around Christmas?  Vermont Public Radio and Eye on the Sky posted temperature data for St Johnsbury, VT (which has records back to the 1800s) and showed a full 2F increase in mean temperatures for a few days around Christmas. 

 

There has to be a reason for that...it cannot just be random over that long of a data-set.  I'll see if I can find the graph on social media.

Can you imagine the Pony tails in that office? Just braids and Pony-O's in every direction

[CoastalWx]

Can you imagine the Pony tails in that office? Just braids and Pony-O's in every direction

 

You probably can't even see the floor...just long telephone pole width ropes of hair spread all over the floor.

[Damage In Tolland]

You probably can't even see the floor...just long telephone pole width ropes of hair spread all over the floor.

They can't even roll their chairs along the floor..the hair is too long and keeps getting tangled and rolled up in the wheels.

[40/70 Benchmark]

A in Natick and A- in ORH.

There's a level of subjectivity here for grading. I love snow for the holidays and it was a flat out disaster. Not even one decent event in the 2-3 weeks leading up to Christmas. Even if it melts before that. So for that, I cannot give a grade higher. Esp or ORH where it's more part of the climo. We would have needed a big march to overcome that.

We did get a 6"+ storm for thanksgiving though which was awesome. I measured a snow depth in excess of 40" for the first time since March 2001 too. Coldest Month on record. Snowiest month on record. In the same month. Awesome.

Currently 3rd snowiest winter on record.

A- here.

 

As great as that three weeks was, it was all there was in my area.

The holidays blew and it was nothing but whiffs and cold rainers for the last two months.

[JC-CT]

Kevin also claimed 36 in the blizzard though

 

 

LOL I know, but still a pretty big gap.

 

 

What do you think he got?

[ORH_wxman]

What do you think he got?

 

 

Everyone around him (posters here included) reported 28-32...so anywhere around that. It was a blizzard, so not easy to measure, but 36 was an outlier measurement.

 

Though I did see he "revised" his total down to 34 now...so maybe eventually it will be within that range after another few years.

[JC-CT]

Everyone around him (posters here included) reported 28-32...so anywhere around that. It was a blizzard, so not easy to measure, but 36 was an outlier measurement.

 

Though I did see he "revised" his total down to 34 now...so maybe eventually it will be within that range after another few years.

 

36" is a lot I suppose. I measured 27" on my driveway after it stopped snowing completely. Not sure what that would have been with 6 hour measurements, but I'm guessing around 30". 

[ORH_wxman]

What's interesting about that, is do you remember those graphs that were posted that actually showed some long-term climo spots in New England have an increased temperature anomaly right around Christmas?  Vermont Public Radio and Eye on the Sky posted temperature data for St Johnsbury, VT (which has records back to the 1800s) and showed a full 2F increase in mean temperatures for a few days around Christmas. 

 

There has to be a reason for that...it cannot just be random over that long of a data-set.  I'll see if I can find the graph on social media.

 

 

 

I disagree...over the course of so many arbitrary 3-5 day periods, you are bound to have a few statistical outliers that are not a product of physical basis...but just random variance.

 

You get 6 or 8 really epic mild cutters in a 100 year period, that it going to start skewing the mean pretty good. So over the course of all those days, you are bound to have one small window that just happened to see more of them than other days.

 

 

I suppose if there was a legit physical explanation for it, then you could explain it that way, but I have yet to see one argued. The statistical variance/noise argument is as good as any at the moment.

[CoastalWx]

Yeah that's true. Get a few +20 days in there from random cutters and it will skew the mean.

 

I also can't think of a physical reason why there would be a near spike around Christmas. I'm sure other random times in winter have unexplained spikes too.