Over the last few years, winter really hasn’t been that bad, a few days of snow, no subzero temperatures and some periods of warm weather sandwiched in between.
Most of us consider winter to be December, January, February and sometimes parts of March. Turning the clock back to the winter of 1993-94, I found some statistics that were quite interesting:
• Dec. 21-22 — 3 inches of snow
• Dec. 28 — 2.5 inches of snow
• Jan. 3-4 — 9.8 inches of snow
• Jan. 6 — half-inch of ice, also freezing rain with numerous traffic issues.
• Jan. 12 — 3 inches of snow
• Jan. 17 — 11 inches of snow
• Jan. 27-28 — 1 inch of sleet and freezing rain
Schools were closed from Jan. 17-21 due to severe cold and snow.
• Jan. 16 — minus 3 degrees
• Jan. 18 — zero degrees
• Jan. 19 — minus 14 degrees
• Jan. 20 — minus 3 degrees
• Jan. 21 — minus 11 degrees
• Feb. 3 — 2 inches snow
• Feb. 8-9 — 3 inches sleet, freezing rain, travel at a standstill, power outages, schools closed, travel nearly impossible, cold temperatures, freezing precipitation, solid heavy glaze breaks trees and bushes.
• Feb. 11 — 5 inches of snow
• Feb. 23 — 6 inches of snow
• Feb. 26 — 1 inch of snow
• March 1-3 — 13.5 inches of snow
• March 9-10 — 3.5 inches of snow
• March 16 — snow totaled .3 of an inch
• March 18 — 1 inch of snow
Total snow for December 1993 through March 1994 was 66.1 inches. Temperature tanked at minus 14 degrees.
That’s a quick roundup of the winter 30 years ago.
The latest forecast from the Climate Prediction Center for February indicates that both temperature and precipitation could average above, below or about normal. The 90-day outlook for February, March and April calls for temperatures to be above normal with precipitation to be above, below or about average.
The first week of the New Year was rather quiet, but then the area finally saw snow and cold weather return, something we really haven’t seen a lot of the last few years. Cumberland endured a two-week stretch of January- type weather and the ski slopes in West Virginia and Garrett County enjoyed some of the best skiing in recent history.
The last week of January saw a quick warmup with ample rain and our snow around the Queen City was just a memory. Warm temperatures combined with 1.12 inches of rain caused the Potomac River at Wiley Ford to crest at 11 feet. The usual trouble spots on the South Branch were flooded once again and the folks at the Toll Bridge in Oldtown were forced to close the bridge due to high water and cleanup. It finally seemed like January, at least for a couple of weeks.
Precipitation for January totaled 4.68 inches, which is 1.89 inches above the average of 2.79 inches. The maximum temperature was a surprising 67 degrees and the minimum tanked at a very cold 3 degrees.
The average maximum temperature for the month was 39.5 degrees and the average minimum was 24.8 degrees. Snowfall measured 13.8 inches. Fog was observed on six days and glaze was noted on two occasions.
January temperatures soared into the 60s for one day, two days of 50-degree weather were noted, 15 days remained in the 40s, eight days were in the 30s and five days failed to climb out of the 20s.
If you have been following the meteorological calendar, winter is now two-thirds over. However, if you go by the calendar on the wall above your desk, winter is half over.
The good news in this matter is that winter is definitely on the downhill side with spring being a little over 40 days away. The sun has started its northward trek toward the summer solstice and February shows an increase of more than an hour of daylight. This sure makes me feel better, knowing that the days are getting longer and winter is getting shorter.
Here’s a tidbit of info for you. Construction began on the new Doppler radar system at the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, in February 1989. That’s 35 years! Where in the world has the time gone? Speaking of time flying by, the Golden/Thomas family has been observing the weather in the Queen City for 77 years.
The clouds, cold, wind and snow have clearly kept my spirits rather low the last six weeks or so. More sunshine and warmth would be quite welcome but, in the meantime, I’ll be packing my bags, maybe rather slowly, for another action packed, fun-filled trip to the beach. The countdown is on! Until next month, relax and enjoy — spring is getting closer every day.