one unusual March

This was one of the least snowiest March’s in generations; less than an inch in many locations.

At the Burlington NWS office it was the sixth least snowiest on record (their records go back well over a hundred years). You have to go back to 1953 to find a March with less snow than this year’s.

it had to end

Friday was the first day in the last 47 (!) with below average temperatures. Despite good sun, it felt “wintery” with daytime temperature mostly in the 20s, (the day’s highs actually came with the predawn cloud cover and were 30ish.

The string of 46 consecutive days with above average goes back to February 8th.

When the consecutive streak started, the normal average daily temperature was 18 degrees and when it ended (march 26th) the normal daily average temperature was 34 degrees.

Not only is this amazing just for the number of days, but for the fact that it wasn’t just a slightly above most of those days, but well above; it actually averaged 9.0 degrees warmer than normal during that incredible stretch.

two inches?

It ended up more like two flakes; the snow drought here continues.

From the NWS Burlington: “so far this month have received only 2.7 inches of snowfall. The least amount of snowfall for the entire month of February was 1.3inches in February 1957...followed by 2.0 inches in February 1961.
Climate records for Burlington go back to 1884.”

two little, too long

Looking forward to at least a little white today. Last time I saw even two inches of snowfall here on the hill was January 18… almost 4 weeks ago! Since then, there have been two falls of just under two inches, and on the 18th it was only 3.1.

It’ll be interesting to see if I even get two inches today.

weekend lose

Sadly appropriate that the last weekend of the year brings us more unwanted rain. Didn’t we get enough in the summer?

Lost nearly half our snow cover here on Hollister Hill (9 down to 5 inches as of midday). Looks like we may rebuild some next week, but still if this Sunday’s precipitation had been snow, we could have added maybe 3-6 inches, and thought about breaking some snowshoe trails.

its official

November ended the 9th warmest in Burlington with a monthly average of 41.8 degrees. That could be why only two other years have not had any measurable snow there by now. Their record latest date is 12.7.

not unusual

Our second significant rain event in under a week; still a bit early for snow. It’d be a bummer for down-hillers, though, if it were December.

bit of a warm-up

Monday was another below average temperature day (due to another very cold morning); it saw, though, the return of some afternoon 50s for the first time in over a week. St J was 50 even, Burlington reached 52 and Montpelier got to 53.

record dry spell... not exactly

Burlington has had 10 days without measurable precipitation.

They should reach at least 12 days, climbing into the top 25 consecutive dry days for the Aug through Oct period. If they miss Friday’s precipitation, they could get to 15 dry days which would make the top 10, but still be far from number one. The driest spell for late summer is 23 consecutive days in 1894 and 1924.

The all time dry spell for Burlington, for any time of year, is 52 days
which occurred from April 17 through June 7 1903.

hottest month of the year?

Not nearly as wet a weekend as it might have been; next weather story- much cooler, less humid air for the end of this week.
Right now, August is in first place for the warmest month of the year, depending on location, by about 2-4 degrees. It has been the only month to bring us any sustained summer weather. However, much cooler temperatures are expected to end the month (or at least the week). Will these be chilly enough to knock the month out of first? I don’t think so, but they will certainly lower the average.
There is nothing unusual about the end of August being cooler than the beginning; it’s part of our seasonal transition.