This time of year our thoughts are on warm temperatures and thunderstorms, not snow, but to a climatologist, the snow season officially comes to an end today.
Whereas most weather statistics are kept for the traditional calendar year, winter statistics are measured from July 1 to June 30.The official 2009-10 winter snow total was 46.6 inches, which by coincidence is exactly equal to our current 30-year average of 46.6 inches. Our long-term average since snow records began in the late 1800s is 40 inches.
In a climate where our averages are calculated based on extremes, it was an odd statistical fluke that we would finish with such a snow total. Although the winter started very snowy, with 24.4 inches falling in December, only a few tenths of an inch fell after Feb. 8. You may remember that the weather did not necessarily turn dry after that, but instead the precipitation fell as rain instead of snow.
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