Spring is here! At least "meteorologically" speaking. Meteorological summer officially began on March first, you know, the day before the biggest snowstorm in the Valley this season!
Friday's storm dumped anywhere between 5-12" of snow in the Valley. The March 2nd storm single-handedly put March ahead of December for snowfall. That tells you a little about our winter, or lack of winter as the case may be.
The big question now becomes, are we done with winter? I would say, not so fast. There is snow in the forecast for Tuesday night and early Wednesday but it's not overly impressive. The long range climate forecast (which as you may recall I place very little stock in) calls for temperatures to stay close to average and precipitation to be slightly less than average.
Considering our average high temperature is already 50, the prospect of many more significant winter weather events looks slim. Following a winter like this one many will be looking for answers. What caused such a mild winter? Last winter was so snowy this one so dry, is it climate change?
I think it's important not to jump to any conclusions. No doubt we often see extremes in our weather from day to day, month to month and certainly year to year. It's important to look at data over the long term. No doubt this winter will go down as drier than normal and most likely warmer than normal. We put together the best forecasts we can using all the data we can get our hands on but if I've learned anything during my 20 years of forecasting, Mother Nature won't listen to me.
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