Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
000 CXUS51 KGYX 082124 CLSCON PWMCLSCON 000 TTAA00 GYX 060202 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 858 PM EST SAT MAR 05 2022 ................................... ...THE CONCORD NH CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2021 TO 2/28/2022... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1868 TO 2022 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 64 02/23 60 4 64 12/01 LOWEST -10 01/22 -15 5 -8 12/19 AVG. MAXIMUM 36.1 34.5 1.6 35.0 AVG. MINIMUM 15.7 15.7 -0.0 18.1 MEAN 25.9 25.1 0.8 26.6 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 37 37.7 -0.7 32 DAYS MIN <= 32 82 85.3 -3.3 85 DAYS MIN <= 0 11 11.7 -0.7 3 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 16.68 2008 MINIMUM 3.14 1980 TOTALS 10.55 9.25 1.30 9.82 DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.10 0.02 0.11 DAYS >= .01 35 33.2 1.8 29 DAYS >= .10 21 19.6 1.4 13 DAYS >= .50 8 6.5 1.5 6 DAYS >= 1.00 3 1.9 1.1 4 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.06 02/03 TO 02/04 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 102.0 2008 TOTALS 36.3 48.3 -12.0 58.2 SINCE 7/1 36.7 51.6 -14.9 59.0 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 6 DAYS >= TRACE 29 22.0 7.0 36 DAYS >= 1.0 9 11.9 -2.9 12 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 13 01/30 24 HR TOTAL 7.6 02/25 TO 02/26 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3501 3590 -89 3426 SINCE 7/1 4715 5064 -349 4792 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 6.7 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 32/310 DATE 02/18 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 47/310 DATE 01/18 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.45 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 67 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 HEAVY RAIN 3 RAIN 7 LIGHT RAIN 23 FREEZING RAIN 7 LT FREEZING RAIN 8 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 6 LIGHT SNOW 29 FOG 36 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 18 HAZE 12 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && WINTER GOT OFF TO A MILD START WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING WELL ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF DECEMBER THANKS TO SEVERAL DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S AND A FEW NIGHTS WHERE LOW TEMPERATURES DID NOT DROP BELOW FREEZING. THIS MILD START TO WINTER CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US THAT OFTEN EXTENDED INTO NEW ENGLAND. THIS RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OFTEN FORMS OVER THE SOUTHEAST US DURING LA NINA WINTERS WITH THIS PAST WINTER FEATURING MODERATE LA NINA CONDITIONS IN THE TROPICAL PACIFIC. THE MILD WEATHER PATTERN TURNED MORE WINTRY AFTER A STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSED THE AREA ON DECEMBER 17TH. ON DECEMBER 18TH TO 19TH LOW PRESSURE TRACKED ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BRINGING THE FIRST APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON WITH 4.2 INCHES OF SNOWFALL. TEMPERATURES REMAINED COLD ENOUGH THEREAFTER TO PRESERVE THE SNOWPACK INTO CHRISTMAS. ON CHRISTMAS DAY THERE WAS AN ICY WINTRY MIX THAT ENDED AS SOME SNOW CHRISTMAS NIGHT. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR INTO THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS OF JANUARY. THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY TEMPERATURES OSCILLATED BETWEEN BELOW NORMAL AND ABOVE NORMAL WITH A LIGHT SNOW EVENT ON THE 7TH AND A SNOW TO RAIN EVENT ON THE 17TH AS THE WEATHER PATTERN ACROSS NORTH AMERICA STARTED TO UNDERGO A TRANSITION. THIS TRANSITION WAS RELATED TO THE PACIFIC NORTH AMERICAN PATTERN SHIFTING TO ITS POSITIVE PHASE AFTER BEING IN ITS NEGATIVE PHASE DURING DECEMBER INTO EARLY JANUARY. THIS SHIFT TO A +PNA LED TO A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS WESTERN NORTH AMERICA WITH A DEEP TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY. THE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS BROUGHT A PERIOD OF PERSISTENT COLD DURING THE SECOND HALF OF JANUARY ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO AVERAGE WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY. THE TROUGH ALSO PRODUCED A POWERFUL OCEAN STORM ON JANUARY 29TH WITH THE CONCORD AREA MISSING OUT ON THE BULK OF THE SNOW AND WIND THAT OCCURRED FURTHER SOUTH AND EAST, BUT STILL RECEIVED 5.5 INCHES OF SNOW. GOING INTO FEBRUARY THE RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US REDEVELOPED AND REMAINED A DOMINANT FEATURE THROUGH THE END OF WINTER. MILD SOUTHWEST FLOW AROUND THE RIDGE BROUGHT SEVERAL WARM SPELLS TO THE CONCORD AREA IN FEBRUARY. THE WARMEST PERIOD CAME ON FEBRUARY 23RD WHEN THE HIGH REACHED 64 DEGREES, WHICH WAS THE WARMEST DAY OF THE WINTER SEASON. ANOTHER DOMINANT FEATURE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER MAP DURING FEBRUARY WAS A PERSISTENT TROUGH OVER CENTRAL CANADA. AS NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND WAS POSITIONED BETWEEN THIS TROUGH AND A RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US THE STORM TRACK HAD A TENDENCY TO CUT ACROSS THE AREA WITH SYSTEMS BRINGING A VARIETY OF PRECIPITATION TYPES IN FEBRUARY. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENT OF THE WINTER OCCURRED ON FEBRUARY 3RD TO 4TH WHEN WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE TRACKED ALONG A COLD FRONT THAT SLOWLY SANK SOUTH THROUGH NEW ENGLAND AND THEN STALLED NEAR THE LATITUDE OF CONCORD. THIS SET UP LED TO A PERIOD OF RAIN THAT THEN CHANGED OVER TO SLEET AND EVENTUALLY ENDED AS SNOW WITH A LIQUID EQUIVALENT STORM TOTAL OF 2.20 INCHES. SYSTEMS THAT THEN CROSSED THE AREA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY WERE PRIMARILY RAIN PRODUCERS WHICH BROUGHT THE SNOWPACK DOWN TO 4 INCHES AFTER A PEAK OF 13 INCHES AT THE END OF JANUARY. THE GREATEST SNOWFALL OF THE WINTER SEASON CAME ON FEBRUARY 25TH INTO THE 26TH WHEN LOW PRESSURE TRACKED ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BRINGING 7.6 INCHES OF SNOW. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR WINTER WAS 25.9 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 0.8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMEST WINTER WAS IN 2015-16 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 30.9 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS IN 1917-18 WHEN IT WAS 15.5 DEGREES. A TOTAL OF 10.55 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 1.30 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON FEBRUARY 3RD AND 4TH WITH A LIQUID EQUIVALENT OF 2.20 INCHES. THE WETTEST WINTER WAS IN 2007-08 WHEN 16.68 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE DRIEST WAS IN 1979-80 WHEN ONLY 3.14 INCHES FELL. THERE WAS 36.3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL, WHICH WAS 12.0 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST SNOW FELL ON FEBRUARY 25TH TO 26TH WITH 7.6 INCHES. THE LEAST SNOWIEST WINTER WAS IN 1929-30 WITH ONLY 13.8 INCHES. THE SNOWIEST WAS IN 1950-51 WHEN 102.0 INCHES FELL. THE FOLLOWING DAILY RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN WINTER 2021/22... DATE RECORD PREVIOUS FEB 4 1.54 - GREATEST PRECIPITATION 0.90 IN 1882 FEB 17 59 - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 58 IN 1883, 1880 $$ SCHROETER