An Exceptionally Snowy Start to December
2016-12-05 08:57:02.000 – Mike Carmon, Senior Weather Observer & Education Specialist
December 1st is the first official day of meteorological winter. Generally speaking, winter on Mount Washington is considered to begin much earlier than this—back in October. Although we had seen a few minor snow events throughout the months of October and November, a switch seems to have flipped once the calendar turned the page to the month of December 2016.
Since Thursday, December 1st, we’ve received a total of 21.3″ of snowfall…and counting, as another round of snowfall has just commenced as I compose this blog post. It may be warm and toasty in the weather room, but outdoors the snow is falling moderately, with freezing fog, and temperatures lingering the teens.
Our average monthly snowfall total for December stands at 45.5″ of the white stuff. A mere five days into the month, and we’ve accumulated nearly half of that total!
In the month of December 2015, a month that kicked off a fairly disappointing New England winter, Mount Washington accumulated 29.0″ over the entire month. By the time this current system wraps up by tomorrow morning, in which we’re anticipating another 3-6″, we’ll likely be very close to last December’s total, or perhaps even eclipsed that mark!
With the onslaught of the winter season, we’ve certainly had our fair share of fun up here at the Observatory, taking advantage of the fresh powder that’s present in large drifts all around the summit of Mount Washington.
Let it snow!
Mike Carmon, Senior Weather Observer & Education Specialist
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