Spring Snowstorm On The Horizon?

2015-04-17 16:54:33.000 – Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist

As our Co-Director of Summit Operations Mike Carmon mentioned yesterday, signs of spring abound across the higher elevations of New Hampshire. Our snow depth is at its lowest point in nearly 3 months, and temperatures have been climbing above freezing on the summit much more frequently the past few weeks. Does this mean we’re done with snow and wintry weather across the higher summits? No way!

Looking ahead at the weather over the next several days, a very active storm pattern will lead to plenty of precipitation across New England through the middle of next week. While the lower elevations will likely see heavy rain and even have concerns for flooding, the very highest elevations of New Hampshire will likely see several inches of heavy wet snow. Tomorrow a quick moving system will dive south out of Canada, with enough cold air in place for mostly snow beginning around noon and lasting into the evening. While this will be a short lived event, precipitation may fall heavily, with isolated thunder not out of the question especially further south and east.

The more interesting storm system will approach the area by Monday, with slow moving low pressure moving into the Great Lakes pulling up plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. Typically this type of scenario, with low pressure passing to our west, would result in a surge of warm air and likely rain this time of year for the summit. At this time, it appears enough cold air will remain in place ahead of the storm to keep precipitation all snow into early Tuesday morning. This will be followed by only a few hours of rain or freezing rain before more snow arrives on the tail end of precipitation Tuesday night and possibly into Wednesday morning. With such a slow moving system, snowfall amounts could be impressive for this time of year, possibly exceeding a foot if enough cold air remains in place throughout the storm. This serves as a reminder that although spring seems to be here in the surrounding valleys, winter conditions can be seen at any time of year on Mount Washington.

Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist