Snow … Where, Oh Where, Have You Gone?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Just how rare is it to have no measurable snow in February? Well, since 1904, 108 years ago, it’s only happened twice, in 1984 and again in 1998. This February could join the club. So far with just over a week to go in the month we've had only unmeasurable traces of the white stuff and, while not a sure thing, the long range charts don’t hold any indication that anything substantial is on the way.
As for the winter as a whole, if there were not another flake this season the 13” total we’ve had so far would make this the 8th least snowy winter since 1904. The least snow recorded in any season was 1997-98 when a paltry 4.6 inches was measured from October through April.
So what’s going on? Well, two of the main ingredients for snowstorms, moisture and cold air, have been out of sync. Most of the cold air has been trapped far to our north and west much of the winter and the storm track has been either far to our west or out to sea, far to our south and east. For snow lovers, it’s been one frustration after another. The only saving grace is that we still have several weeks to go before the winter is over and some of our most memorable storms have occurred in March and, yes, even April. One or two big snowstorms would relegate all of the above to as Gilda Radner’s character Emily Litella used to say, “Never mind!”
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Follow us on Facebook Twitter See It Read It Share It