Climate Change in March

[TheClimateChanger]

Decided to quantify the changes in early spring temperatures by comparing the average March high temperatures in the late 19th century to the most recent 13 years (2010-2022). I used average high temperatures to somewhat minimize the impacts of urban heat island effect. What we can see are absolutely prodigious changes.

Large cities in the lower Great Lakes (Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo) experienced 19th century early spring temperatures which were generally cooler than Green Bay, Wisconsin in the most recent 13 years (41.6F). In the case of Buffalo, as well as cities like Minneapolis and Milwaukee, March high temperatures in the 19th century are about equal to (or in the case of MSP) cooler than recent average March high temperatures at places such as Duluth (37.1F) and International Falls (37.4F), and only a couple of degrees warmer than average March high temperatures at Caribou, Maine in the most recent 13 years (34.8F).

March high temperatures in New York City during the late 19th century are cooler than recent readings in places such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Buffalo and Rochester, and only a couple degrees warmer than recent readings in Green Bay, Wisconsin. By comparison, recent March high temperatures in New York City are about a degree warmer than what was observed in Washington, D.C. in the 19th century. March highs in Pittsburgh, as well, are now 0.6F warmer than D.C. in the late 19th century. Washington, D.C. on the other hand is seeing March high temperatures today only a couple of degrees cooler than places such as Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina experienced in the 19th century. Philadelphia had cooler March highs in the 19th century than places such as Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago. Today, Philadelphia sees March high temperatures which exceed those measured in Washington, D.C. in the 19th century by several degrees.

Generally, northern locations have warmed from 5-8F over that timeframe, while southern locations have warmed from 4-5.5F. These temperatures correspond to climate shifts of hundreds of miles. I think if you teleported someone in from the 19th century, they would be very confused by these changes - maybe even moreso than they would be of all the technological changes.

Here is what I found:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1871-1900: 37.1F

2010-2022: 44.1F (+7.0F)

Detroit, Michigan

1874-1900: 39.7F

2010-2022: 47.4F (+7.7F)

Chicago, Illinois

1873-1900: 40.9F

2010-2022: 47.6F (+6.7F)

Cleveland, Ohio

1872-1900: 40.9F

2010-2022: 48.2F (+7.3F)

Minneapolis, Minnesota

1873-1900: 36.7F

2010-2022: 43.3F (+6.6F)

Buffalo, New York

1874-1900: 37.3F

2010-2022: 43.4F (+6.1F)

Rochester, New York

1872-1900: 37.6F

2010-2022: 44.6F (+7.0F)

Erie, Pennsylvania

1874-1900: 40.3F

2010-2022: 45.2F (+4.9F)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1875-1900: 47.6F

2010-2022: 50.8F (+3.2F)

Keep in mind at Pittsburgh, this is comparing downtown records (elevation: 780-800 feet) to airport records (elevation: 1200 feet), and about 15 miles northwest, which hides a lot of the warming trend.

Washington, D.C.

1872-1900: 50.2F

2010-2022: 57.6F (+7.4F)

New York, New York

1869-1900: 43.4F

2010-2022: 51.0F (+7.6F)

Boston, Massachusetts

1872-1900: 42.0F

2010-2022: 46.9F (+4.9F)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1874-1900: 47.2F

2010-2022: 53.8F (+6.6F)

Atlanta, Georgia

1879-1900: 61.1F

2010-2022: 66.5F (+5.4F)

Memphis, Tennessee

1879-1900: 60.6F

2010-2022: 64.8F (+4.2F)

Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina

1887-1900: 59.1F

2010-2022: 63.5F (+4.4F)

Charlotte, North Carolina

1879-1900: 59.9F

2010-2022: 65.1F (+5.2F)

 

[TheClimateChanger]

At some of these locations, typical 19th century March high temperatures are rarely if ever experienced.

Since 1990, MKE has seen a March with an average high temperature below the 19th century mean only twice (2013, 36.0 & 2014, 36.7); DTW once (2014, 37.6); ORD, twice (2013, 39.6 & 1996, 40.2); DCA, once (1993, 49.9); NYC, none; and PHL, once (1993, 47.0). In other words, the coldest Marches of some of our lives would have been considered normal weather in the 19th century.

[michsnowfreak]

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

[LibertyBell]

13 hours ago, michsnowfreak said:

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

that reminds me of The Time Machine lol

 

[TheClimateChanger]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:18 PM, michsnowfreak said:

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

I wonder how much the addition of 2023 & 2024 will affect this analysis. Soon to have a full 15 years of data! That's half of a standard climatological period.

[TheClimateChanger]

As we head into March 2024, figured I'd update this analysis through 2023. Most places cooled slightly, especially MSP; however, southern and eastern locations generally warmed slightly or stayed the same.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1871-1900: 37.1F

2010-2023: 44.1F (+7.0F)

Detroit, Michigan

1874-1900: 39.7F

2010-2023: 47.3F (+7.6F)

Chicago, Illinois

1873-1900: 40.9F

2010-2023: 47.7F (+6.8F)

Cleveland, Ohio

1872-1900: 40.9F

2010-2023: 48.1F (+7.2F)

Minneapolis, Minnesota

1873-1900: 36.7F

2010-2023: 42.8F (+6.1F)

Buffalo, New York

1874-1900: 37.3F

2010-2023: 43.3F (+6.0F)

Rochester, New York

1872-1900: 37.6F

2010-2023: 44.4F (+6.8F)

Erie, Pennsylvania

1874-1900: 40.3F

2010-2023: 45.0F (+4.7F)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1875-1900: 47.6F

2010-2023: 50.7F (+3.1F)

Keep in mind at Pittsburgh, this is comparing downtown records (elevation: 780-800 feet) to airport records (elevation: 1200 feet), and about 15 miles northwest, which hides a lot of the warming trend.

Washington, D.C.

1872-1900: 50.2F

2010-2023: 57.6F (+7.4F)

New York, New York

1869-1900: 43.4F

2010-2023: 51.1F (+7.7F)

Boston, Massachusetts

1872-1900: 42.0F

2010-2023: 46.9F (+4.9F)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1874-1900: 47.2F

2010-2023: 53.8F (+6.6F)

Atlanta, Georgia

1879-1900: 61.1F

2010-2023: 66.7F (+5.6F)

Memphis, Tennessee

1879-1900: 60.6F

2010-2023: 64.7F (+4.1F)

Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina

1887-1900: 59.1F

2010-2023: 63.7F (+4.6F)

Charlotte, North Carolina

1879-1900: 59.9F

2010-2023: 65.1F (+5.2F)

[TheClimateChanger]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:18 PM, michsnowfreak said:

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

Also, while you received positive feedback, I strongly disagree. The 13-year period is now 14 years, and soon to be 15. There was minimal change with 2023 added into the mix, and 2024 is shaping up to be another warm March in the area of concern (see below).

And if you are saying, I should include the first 30 years for all climate sites - no, this is specifically comparing 19th century data to the modern era. Why would I include data gathered from years other than those in the 19th century? Moreover, the locations that have a full 30 years of data from the 19th century [or close to it] actually show MORE warming in general than sites with an abridged history! Why? Well, because it was warming then too! So, it's not like I'm cherry-picking the data to make a point.

Here's an additional location with plenty of 19th century data:

Lansing/East Lansing, Michigan

1864-1900: 39.9F

2010-2023: 45.4F (+5.5F)

 

[Stormchaserchuck1]

Not only that, but the warmth seems to be accelerating! Since the satellite era in 1948, the N. Pacific Ocean High pressure for Feb-March (-PNA) is going to be after this March, a whole +25% over any 500mb anomaly on record (for a 2-month period, spanning 7 years). 

But perhaps a side point is, that is a pattern. It's not random, general warming happening, it's something causing -PNA's to be more frequent in Feb-March. 

I would put money on next Feb-March also featuring this -PNA, SE ridge pattern. 

[TheClimateChanger]

13 hours ago, Stormchaserchuck1 said:

Not only that, but the warmth seems to be accelerating! Since the satellite era in 1948, the N. Pacific Ocean High pressure for Feb-March (-PNA) is going to be after this March, a whole +25% over any 500mb anomaly on record (for a 2-month period, spanning 7 years). 

But perhaps a side point is, that is a pattern. It's not random, general warming happening, it's something causing -PNA's to be more frequent in Feb-March. 

I would put money on next Feb-March also featuring this -PNA, SE ridge pattern. 

One interesting thing is the mean high temperature in April during the 19th century was closer to recent March high temperatures than the 19th century March figures at many sites. That's the case at Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Charlotte. Detroit is a push. I think that's consistent with about a 2-3 week seasonal shift forward, which I think is also supported by phenological data.

March in the 19th century had a climate we associate with the period of mid February through early March. March today is more akin to the period from mid March through early April from the 19th century.

[TheClimateChanger]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:18 PM, michsnowfreak said:

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

Also, I find it rather presumptuous that you think I was trying to ameliorate a growing UHI effect. I was just trying to eliminate as much urban heat island contamination, regardless of when it occurred. Most of this is comparing data collected from rooftop and/or north-facing window enclosures in the city center to modern data collected from suburban airport sites with equipment properly installed at an appropriate height over grass or sod. The low temperatures in the early data are more impacted by this, and therefore show less warming at most of the sites.

We can see one exception to this is the data for East Lansing, where minima have increased by an astounding 8.1F in the month of March when comparing the first 34 years of data to the most recent 14 years. This is likely due to the fact that the temperature shelter was properly housed over grass or sod, and East Lansing was still very rural [especially in 1863, when the data starts].

[TheClimateChanger]

11 minutes ago, TheClimateChanger said:

Also, I find it rather presumptuous that you think I was trying to ameliorate a growing UHI effect. I was just trying to eliminate as much urban heat island contamination, regardless of when it occurred. Most of this is comparing data collected from rooftop and/or north-facing window enclosures in the city center to modern data collected from suburban airport sites with equipment properly installed at an appropriate height over grass or sod. The low temperatures in the early data are more impacted by this, and therefore show less warming at most of the sites.

We can see one exception to this is the data for East Lansing, where minima have increased by an astounding 8.1F in the month of March when comparing the first 34 years of data to the most recent 14 years. This is likely due to the fact that the temperature shelter was properly housed over grass or sod, and East Lansing was still very rural [especially in 1863, when the data starts].

To highlight how profound this impact is, if we look at the first 34 years of data collected at the Michigan State Agricultural College [now Michigan State University], the mean minima in the month of March was 18.7F.

The mean low temperature of the most recent 14 Marches observed at Capital City Airport is 26.8F. Further, the mean monthly minima for the month of January and February over the past 15 years is 18.2F and 18.3F, respectively. Or only slightly less than the 19th century March average.

[ChescoWx]

Below is a great list (Thanks Chris Martz) of all-time US by State high temperature records (of course before adjustments NOAA adjustments etc.).

Per Chris "35 states set their “all-time” March monthly record high temperatures prior to 1955. Thirteen states set theirs in 1907 alone, the most in a single year and a single decade. Eight states set their March records in the 1920s, seven of which were in 1929. I ran the numbers by hand from NOAA's database on xmACIS2 and have been consulting with just about every state climatologist to confirm that these are in fact legitimate, as NOAA NCEI only lists records set for all months, not individual months."

[Cobalt]

17 hours ago, ChescoWx said:

Below is a great list (Thanks Chris Martz) of all-time US by State high temperature records (of course before adjustments NOAA adjustments etc.).

Per Chris "35 states set their “all-time” March monthly record high temperatures prior to 1955. Thirteen states set theirs in 1907 alone, the most in a single year and a single decade. Eight states set their March records in the 1920s, seven of which were in 1929. I ran the numbers by hand from NOAA's database on xmACIS2 and have been consulting with just about every state climatologist to confirm that these are in fact legitimate, as NOAA NCEI only lists records set for all months, not individual months."

It looks like this is referring to daily temperature records for one location, which feels way less statistically significant than a 31 day temperature average. That stripe of 1998 on the East coast might've been hit on a particularly warm day, but the month on a whole is no comparison to a March like 2012. I feel like that is worth mentioning in your post.

[TheClimateChanger]

9 hours ago, Cobalt said:

It looks like this is referring to daily temperature records for one location, which feels way less statistically significant than a 31 day temperature average. That stripe of 1998 on the East coast might've been hit on a particularly warm day, but the month on a whole is no comparison to a March like 2012. I feel like that is worth mentioning in your post.

I'm assuming 

Just a bunch of nonsense. It was actually allegedly 96F in Portsmouth, Ohio, in March 1907. Apparently Chris tossed that value. Shown below are March 22-24, 1907. Look at this nonsense. Green was 3 degrees warmer than Portsmouth, and 5-15F warmer than every other site on the 22nd. Portsmouth was 8-19F warmer than the rest of southern Ohio on the 23rd, and 7-24F warmer on the 24th. Funny how we don't see this extreme random site variation with modern equipment - almost like those values aren't very reliable, and should be tossed! Which makes it all the crazier when we do beat statewide record maxima, as in the case of Michigan in February. Not just an isolated station or two, but fully half or more of the state! So the tl;dr, this is probably the worst possible metric to gauge climate change. As you pointed out, monthly means are a much better way to evaluate that since these questionable extremes are filtered out through averaging.

 

[chubbs]

Spot checking the Philadelphia airport, there is no trend in the highest march temperature. Max is 87 in 1945. No wonder Martz and Chesco like this stat. Funny because Chesco's other favorite is the philly airport heat island.

Edit: Added the minimum temperature for March at the airport. Here there does appear to be a rising trend in recent decades, but the warmest is 30F back in 1942.

 

[LibertyBell]

On 3/7/2024 at 1:54 PM, TheClimateChanger said:

Just a bunch of nonsense. It was actually allegedly 96F in Portsmouth, Ohio, in March 1907. Apparently Chris tossed that value. Shown below are March 22-24, 1907. Look at this nonsense. Green was 3 degrees warmer than Portsmouth, and 5-15F warmer than every other site on the 22nd. Portsmouth was 8-19F warmer than the rest of southern Ohio on the 23rd, and 7-24F warmer on the 24th. Funny how we don't see this extreme random site variation with modern equipment - almost like those values aren't very reliable, and should be tossed! Which makes it all the crazier when we do beat statewide record maxima, as in the case of Michigan in February. Not just an isolated station or two, but fully half or more of the state! So the tl;dr, this is probably the worst possible metric to gauge climate change. As you pointed out, monthly means are a much better way to evaluate that since these questionable extremes are filtered out through averaging.

 

averaging sucks though, higher humidity causes higher overnight temps.

Personally, I like higher number of 90 degree highs.

we all know there is climate change, but it wont always result in warmer weather, it can cause more rain too, which will lower the daily highs.

 

[LibertyBell]

On 3/7/2024 at 4:04 AM, Cobalt said:

It looks like this is referring to daily temperature records for one location, which feels way less statistically significant than a 31 day temperature average. That stripe of 1998 on the East coast might've been hit on a particularly warm day, but the month on a whole is no comparison to a March like 2012. I feel like that is worth mentioning in your post.

no it was an entire hot week near the end of March with the temperatures to the upper 80s in NYC near the end of the month.  It also happened in March 1990 (and that was the year with the earliest blooming cherry blossoms) but in that case it was warm January, February and March with the mid to upper 80s in the middle of the month.

 

[LibertyBell]

On 3/5/2024 at 10:24 AM, TheClimateChanger said:

Also, I find it rather presumptuous that you think I was trying to ameliorate a growing UHI effect. I was just trying to eliminate as much urban heat island contamination, regardless of when it occurred. Most of this is comparing data collected from rooftop and/or north-facing window enclosures in the city center to modern data collected from suburban airport sites with equipment properly installed at an appropriate height over grass or sod. The low temperatures in the early data are more impacted by this, and therefore show less warming at most of the sites.

We can see one exception to this is the data for East Lansing, where minima have increased by an astounding 8.1F in the month of March when comparing the first 34 years of data to the most recent 14 years. This is likely due to the fact that the temperature shelter was properly housed over grass or sod, and East Lansing was still very rural [especially in 1863, when the data starts].

hopefully with time UHI will get less because our cities are now trying to greenify with rooftop gardens and remove this ugly concrete and asphalt.

 

[LibertyBell]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:18 PM, michsnowfreak said:

The march high temp warmed a lot more than the min temp at Detroit.

 

A more fair comparison would be the first 30 years of climate data and the most recent 30 years. Not a small 13 year sample of avg high temps that includes the record march heat of 2012.

 

The avg March temp for Detroit's first 30 years of data (1874-1903) and the most recent 30 years (1993-2022) show a difference of 4.5° (33.0 to 37.5).

 

March is by far the month that has warmed the most since records began, and spring by far the season that has warmed the most. Locally, it is not even a contest. Spring/Summer have warmed much more than Winter/Autumn.  In fact, over the past 100 years, there has been NO warming in January or October at Detroit, but March continues to see the most. 

 

I think if you transported someone from 1880 to 2023 the technology may overshadow the part that march is a few degrees warmer 

March 2012 for you guys was a lot like December 2015 for us.

Of note is that we got much colder after that and had a 30"+ snowstorm in January 2016 and even went below zero on Valentine's Day in February 2016.

And the winter before that we had a -10 anomaly for the entire month of February 2015 and a lot of snow from January thru March.

So many snowy winters starting from 2009-10 with 2011-12 being the rare exception dud winter.

 

[michsnowfreak]

18 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

March 2012 for you guys was a lot like December 2015 for us.

Of note is that we got much colder after that and had a 30"+ snowstorm in January 2016 and even went below zero on Valentine's Day in February 2016.

And the winter before that we had a -10 anomaly for the entire month of February 2015 and a lot of snow from January thru March.

So many snowy winters starting from 2009-10 with 2011-12 being the rare exception dud winter.

 

Yes. December 2015 was very mild here too, however, when you add in the fact that your area is warmer to begin with, plus the higher departures, 2015 was absolutely more impressive on the East Coast. Meanwhile, March 2012 was bonkers here. And I don't care to ever repeat it. All it's doing is asking for imminent disaster to the fruit crops in the Great Lakes. Just 3 years later, we would see an equally impressive negative departure in february 2015.

 

Speaking of 2011-12, yes, it was a terrible snow season, but it was totally allowed considering the stretch it resided within.

The current 30 year average snowfall at Detroit is 45", but that is thanks in part to a number of very snowy winters in the 2000s/10s, as the long term average is closer to 41".

2007-08: 71.7"

2008-09: 65.7"

2009-10: 43.7"

2010-11: 69.1"

2011-12: 26.0"

2012-13: 47.7"

2013-14: 94.9"

2014-15: 47.5"

 

[LibertyBell]

7 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

Yes. December 2015 was very mild here too, however, when you add in the fact that your area is warmer to begin with, plus the higher departures, 2015 was absolutely more impressive on the East Coast. Meanwhile, March 2012 was bonkers here. And I don't care to ever repeat it. All it's doing is asking for imminent disaster to the fruit crops in the Great Lakes. Just 3 years later, we would see an equally impressive negative departure in february 2015.

 

Speaking of 2011-12, yes, it was a terrible snow season, but it was totally allowed considering the stretch it resided within.

The current 30 year average snowfall at Detroit is 45", but that is thanks in part to a number of very snowy winters in the 2000s/10s, as the long term average is closer to 41".

2007-08: 71.7"

2008-09: 65.7"

2009-10: 43.7"

2010-11: 69.1"

2011-12: 26.0"

2012-13: 47.7"

2013-14: 94.9"

2014-15: 47.5"

 

wow 2013-14 really stands out is this the snowiest winter on record there or was there any winter when Detroit hit 100"?

It's said NYC hit 100" just before records started being kept in the 1860s.

[michsnowfreak]

8 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

wow 2013-14 really stands out is this the snowiest winter on record there or was there any winter when Detroit hit 100"?

It's said NYC hit 100" just before records started being kept in the 1860s.

2013-14 is the snowiest on record! A local climatologist said when you combine everything together, it was easily the most severe winter on record for the area. The official tally was #1 snowiest and #8 coldest,m (plus the 4th coldest Nov-Mar on record) but when you factor in the wind and the high snow depths (snow depths were in the double digits for nearly the entire time early january through mid march) it is king.

 

Winters before the official record started always fascinate me because we have tidbits of information that we can piece together, but not enough to make us say for certain what happened. I have a couple books where people kept journals of the weather, so I'm trying to piece together ideas of how the Winters were. Needless to say, while it was a colder era overall, there were multiple mild "open" winters as well (Mild winters that were unusually bare of snow were always referred to as open winters back in the day). Your area in general is a bit more feast/famine than we are here in the lakes, so I'd think 100 inches would certainly seem possible If you could get a parade of noreasters & enough cold air.

[LibertyBell]

25 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

2013-14 is the snowiest on record! A local climatologist said when you combine everything together, it was easily the most severe winter on record for the area. The official tally was #1 snowiest and #8 coldest,m (plus the 4th coldest Nov-Mar on record) but when you factor in the wind and the high snow depths (snow depths were in the double digits for nearly the entire time early january through mid march) it is king.

 

Winters before the official record started always fascinate me because we have tidbits of information that we can piece together, but not enough to make us say for certain what happened. I have a couple books where people kept journals of the weather, so I'm trying to piece together ideas of how the Winters were. Needless to say, while it was a colder era overall, there were multiple mild "open" winters as well (Mild winters that were unusually bare of snow were always referred to as open winters back in the day). Your area in general is a bit more feast/famine than we are here in the lakes, so I'd think 100 inches would certainly seem possible If you could get a parade of noreasters & enough cold air.

Look up the amazing winter of 1783-84 which was entirely driven by a historic volcano in Iceland, Washington's army was stationed in Morristown NJ and they kept a weather diary that stated there was over 12 feet of snow that winter and a total of 30 snowstorms and it got so cold that the ink in their pens froze.  A temperature of -16 was recorded in New York City that season in January which beats the official record of -15 in February 1934 by one degree.