Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
000 CXUS51 KGYX 051010 CLSCON PWMCLSCON 000 TTAA00 GYX 031657 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 0510 AM EST SUN MAR 05 2023 ................................... ...THE CONCORD NH CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1868 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 74 02/21/2018 LOW -37 02/16/1943 HIGHEST 56 12/30 60 -4 64 02/23 LOWEST -15 02/04 -15 0 -10 01/22 AVG. MAXIMUM 38.7 34.5 4.2 36.1 AVG. MINIMUM 20.3 15.7 4.6 15.7 MEAN 29.5 25.1 4.4 25.9 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 19 37.7 -18.7 37 DAYS MIN <= 32 85 85.3 -0.3 82 DAYS MIN <= 0 3 11.7 -8.7 11 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 16.68 2008 MINIMUM 3.14 1980 TOTALS 11.29 9.25 2.04 10.55 DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.10 0.02 0.12 DAYS >= .01 39 33.2 5.8 35 DAYS >= .10 24 19.6 4.4 21 DAYS >= .50 7 6.5 0.5 8 DAYS >= 1.00 2 1.9 0.1 3 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.81 12/22 TO 12/23 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 102.0 2008 TOTALS 43.4 48.3 -4.9 36.3 SINCE 7/1 44.1 51.6 -7.5 36.7 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 5 DAYS >= TRACE 33 22.0 11.0 9 DAYS >= 1.0 13 11.9 1.1 3 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 17 01/24 24 HR TOTAL 14.5 01/22 TO 01/23 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3166 3590 -424 3501 SINCE 7/1 4460 5064 -604 4715 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 8.1 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/340 DATE 02/03 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 51/180 DATE 12/23 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.52 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 70 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 1 HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 9 LIGHT RAIN 21 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 5 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 8 LIGHT SNOW 33 FOG 44 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 12 HAZE 12 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && THE WINTER OF 2022-2023 WILL GO DOWN AS TIED FOR THE SECOND WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD IN THE CONCORD AREA. DESPITE SOME SIZABLE SNOW EVENTS, MILD TEMPERATURES INHIBITED A DEEP AND PERSISTENT SNOWPACK. LA NINA CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT FOR THE THIRD WINTER IN ROW WITH CONDITIONS TRANSITIONING TOWARDS ENSO NEUTRAL TOWARDS THE END OF FEBRUARY. THIS LA NINA ALONG WITH PERSISTENT TROPICAL CONVECTION OVER INDONESIA LED TO A PATTERN DOMINATED BY A TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN US AS WELL AS AN ACTIVE PACIFIC STORM TRACK AIMED AT CALIFORNIA. THE DOMINATE THROUGH IN THE WEST LED TO A PERSISTENT AND STRONG SOUTHEAST RIDGE THAT OFTEN PUSHED NORTH INTO NEW ENGLAND. THE ACTIVE STORM TRACK INTO CALIFORNIA ACTED TO FLOOD THE CONUS WITH MILD PACIFIC AIR AND THE STRONG SOUTHEAST RIDGE ACTED PUSH MILD AIR NORTHWARDS INTO NEW ENGLAND. A STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSED NEW ENGLAND TO START THE WINTER SEASON FOLLOWED BY BRIEF HIGH PRESSURE. A RELATIVELY ACTIVE PATTERN FOLLOWED AND LASTED THROUGH THE SOLSTICE. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS DURING THIS PERIOD HAD A TENDENCY TO TRACK TO THE WEST OF THE AREA LEADING TO MOSTLY RAIN EVENTS FOLLOWED BY COLD AIR INTRUSIONS BEHIND THE SYSTEMS. ONE SYSTEM MANAGED TO HAVE A SECONDARY LOW FORM IN THE GULF OF MAINE ON THE 16TH THAT ALLOWED FOR JUST ENOUGH COLD AIR FOR THE CONCORD AREA TO SEE THEIR FIRST APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL WHEN 3.6 INCHES OF HEAVY WET SNOW FELL. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM TO IMPACT THE AREA IN DECEMBER CAME ON THE 23RD WHEN A RAPIDLY DEEPENING MID LATITUDE CYCLONE TRACKED ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES INTO QUEBEC. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN, POWERFUL ONSHORE WINDS GUSTING TO 65 MPH, AND SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING. A SHOT OF COLD AIR CAME BEHIND THIS SYSTEM FOR CHRISTMAS, ALTHOUGH THIS COLD WAS SHORT LIVED AS TEMPERATURES CLIMBED WELL ABOVE NORMAL TO END DECEMBER AND LASTED THROUGH THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF JANUARY. DURING THIS STRETCH OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES THERE WERE A COUPLE OF LIGHT SNOW EVENTS AS WELL AS SOME MIXED PRECIPITATION AND RAIN EVENTS. THUS, THE CONCORD AREA STRUGGLED TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN MUCH IN THE WAY OF A SNOWPACK. THERE WAS A PATTERN CHANGE GOING INTO THE THIRD WEEK OF JANUARY WHEN A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE PUSHED INTO THE WEST COAST THAT SHIFTED A TROUGH FURTHER EAST INTO THE CENTRAL CONUS THAT SUPPRESSED THE DOMINANT SOUTHEAST RIDGE. THIS PATTERN CHANGE LEAD TO A STORM TRACK DIRECTED TOWARDS NEW ENGLAND WITH LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS PASSING TO THE SOUTH OF CONCORD PUTTING THE AREA ON THE COLD AND SNOWY SIDE OF THE SYSTEMS. ONE SYSTEM BROUGHT 14.6 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE 22ND AND 23RD THAT DROPPED THE GREATEST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON. A HEAVY RAIN EVENT QUICKLY FOLLOWED ON THE 25TH INTO THE 26TH MELTING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF THE FRESH SNOWPACK. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY, ALTHOUGH THIS WAS INTERRUPTED BY A SIGNIFICANT BUT SHORT LIVED ARCTIC AIR OUTBREAK ON FEBRUARY 3RD AND 4TH. THIS ARCTIC AIRMASS BROUGHT LOWS INTO THE MINUS TEENS AND WITH GUSTY WINDS THE WIND CHILL DROPPED TO 43 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON FEBRUARY 3RD. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RETURNED TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL AND REMAINED THERE THROUGH THE BALANCE OF FEBRUARY WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SNOW BRINGING THE SNOWPACK DOWN TO 4 INCHES BY FEBRUARY 20TH. A PATTERN CHANGE CAME AFOOT DURING THE FINAL WEEK OF WINTER AS HIGH LATITUDE BLOCKING DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC AND THEN RETROGRADED WESTWARD INTO GREENLAND AS THE NAO DIPPED INTO NEGATIVE TERRITORY. THE ACTIVE STORM TRACK CONTINUED INTO THE WEST COAST, ALTHOUGH THE HIGH LATITUDE BLOCKING HELP TO SUPPRESS THE STORM TRACK SOUTHWARD BRING SOME LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW EVENTS AS WELL AS BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO CLOSE OUT THE WINTER SEASON. BEFORE THIS LAST MINUTE RETURN TO WINTER WEATHER, THE CONCORD AREA WAS IN THE RUNNING TO EXPERIENCE THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD. HOWEVER, THE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WERE LOW ENOUGH FOR THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE TO DECREASE BELOW THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD VALUE. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 29.5, WHICH WAS 4.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND TIED FOR THE SECOND WARMEST. THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS THE 2015-16 WINTER WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 30.9 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 15.7 DEGREES IN 1976-77. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD AT CONCORD. WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN WINTER (SINCE 1941)... RANK TEMP SEASON 1 30.9 2015-16 2 29.5 2022-23 29.5 2001-02 4 29.0 2011-12 5 28.7 2016-17 28.7 1997-98 7 28.0 1952-53 8 27.9 1948-49 9 27.6 2019-20 10 27.2 1959-60 A TOTAL OF 11.21 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 2.08 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON JANUARY 22ND INTO THE 23RD FOR A TOTAL OF 1.22 INCHES. THE WETTEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 2007-08 WHEN 16.68 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 3.14 INCHES IN 1979-80. A TOTAL OF 43.4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL, WHICH WAS 4.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE LEAST SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 2012 WHEN ONLY 13.8 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE SNOWIEST WAS 100.5 INCHES IN 2008. $$