Hoping for Change

2011-12-10 22:43:52.000 – Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist

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With two fairly significant early season snowstorms in the northeast this past fall (Halloween and Thanksgiving), I ended up answering a lot of questions about whether storms like that can give any indication of how the forthcoming winter will turn out. Naturally, a lot of winter lovers like myself would like to think that significant early season snowfall automatically means that it’s going to be a snowy winter. I wish I could say that was true, but it isn’t necessarily. This year has been a very good example. Despite the early season storms, we are already below average for our seasonal snowfall total here on the mountain. It has also turned out to be very warm for the most part over the last month or so.

For the same reason that significant early season snowfall doesn’t necessarily predict a snowy winter, a warm November and December does not necessarily give way to an overall warm rest of the winter. Given that, this warm stretch we experienced in November and into early December could easily be forgotten if things keep turning around like they have over the last few days. Unfortunately, it does not look like the more seasonable patter we have been experiencing is going to continue. In fact, by by as early as this coming Monday, temperatures could once again be flirting with the freezing mark here on Mount Washington.

As you might expect, this weather has really gotten me down in the dumps. All I can do is keep reminding myself what I mentioned in the previous paragraph: it can all change very quickly.

Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist