Welcome back, faithful followers of the flake! Despite how glorious as this fall has been with all the sunny days and lack of rain, it is that time of year when thoughts of snow start to fill our minds. With the first predictions for frost of the season already in the books, it's high time to give you, dear readers, a glimpse into the ol' meteorological crystal ball about the winter ahead.
The good news, we think, is that this winter will certainly not be as bad as last winter. Snowfall was way, way below average for New England with the high point in the winter an early April snow/sleet event that gave all students in Berkshire County the day off. Snow amounts were about half of what we typically get (historically around 60" at the GSD Home Office), and places like Boston (under 10") and Albany (31.8") were simply saddened by the dearth of snow.
This year we expect a bounce back. The forecast is for La Nina conditions this winter. For our area, that typically means higher average temperatures but also average or slightly higher than average precipitation. The higher temperature prediction does not mean all of our storms will be rain events. But what it typically signifies is that we will see many storms start out as snow and then change over to mixed precipitation and then rain. Fortunately, the changeover for those storms often occurs after the morning commute, but the dreaded changeover storms only produce angst for the GSD Staff. So, fewer "slam-dunk-call-it-in-the-night-before" events and more wait-and-see-until-the-morning storms.
While our first delays and snow days are probably at least a month away, parts of New England have seen snow already. High elevation towns in western Maine and in New Hampshire saw snow this week. Mount Washington had enough snow to plow (Oct. 9-11).
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| Image courtesy of Patrick Hummel, Mount Washington State Parks |
