Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000
CXUS51 KGYX 051041
CLSMHT
PWMCLSMHT 000 TTAA00 GYX 031657
CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 0539 AM EST SUN MAR
05 2023
...................................
...THE MANCHESTER CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM
12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1885 TO
2023
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F) HIGHEST 62 12/30 62 0 68
02/23
LOWEST -12 02/04 -5 -7 -3 01/31
AVG. MAXIMUM 41.7 36.9 4.8 38.8
AVG. MINIMUM 24.8 19.9 4.9 21.1
MEAN 33.3 28.4 4.9 30.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 10 30.2 -20.2 24
DAYS MIN <= 32 74 80.6 -6.6 77
DAYS MIN <= 0 2 3.7 -1.7 3
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) TOTALS 11.90 8.46 3.44
9.34
DAILY AVG. 0.13 0.09 0.04 0.11
DAYS >= .01 37 30.2 6.8 32
DAYS >= .10 24 17.4 6.6 22 DAYS >=
.50 7 5.7 1.3 5 DAYS >= 1.00 1 1.2
-0.2 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.51 12/23 TO 12/23
SNOWFALL (INCHES) TOTALS 35.5 37.4
SINCE 7/1 37.2 36.3
DAYS >= TRACE 32 23
DAYS >= 1.0 12 7
GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 10 01/24 9
01/30
DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 2827 3293 -466 3135
SINCE 7/1 3878 4509 -631 4083
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
................................................................
WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.0
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 47/190 DATE 12/23
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 71/180 DATE 12/23
SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.67
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 66
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 10 LIGHT RAIN
29
FREEZING RAIN 1 LT FREEZING RAIN 5
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 5
LIGHT SNOW 33 FOG 37
FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 9 HAZE 9
- 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 THE SECOND WARMEST WINTERS
ON RECORD IN THE MANCHESTER 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 TROUGH
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 3.3
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 MEASURED AT 2.51 INCHES, 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 MANCHESTER 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 MANCHESTER
PUTTING THE AREA ON THE COLD AND SNOWY SIDE OF THE SYSTEMS. ONE
SYSTEM BROUGHT 6.4 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 39 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
ELIMINATING THE SNOWPACK BY FEBRUARY 5TH. 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 MANCHESTER 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 33.3, WHICH WAS
4.8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD. THE
WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS THE 2015-16 WINTER WHEN THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE WAS 33.7 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 19.3 DEGREES IN 1947-
48. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD AT
MANCHESTER.
WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN WINTER (SINCE 1884)... RANK TEMP
SEASON 1 33.7 2015-16 2 33.3 2022-23 3 33.0 2001-02 4
32.5 2011-12 5 31.3 2016-17 6 31.2 2019-20 7 30.0 2021-22 30.0
1952-53 9 29.9 2020-21 10 29.8 2012-13
A TOTAL OF 11.90 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 3.55 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON JANUARY 25 INTO THE
26 FOR A TOTAL OF 0.82 INCHES. THE WETTEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN
1886-87 WHEN 15.41 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 2.06 INCHES IN 1963-
64.
A TOTAL OF 35.5 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. THE LEAST SNOWIEST WINTER ON
RECORD WAS IN 1942 WHEN ONLY 18.1 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE SNOWIEST
WAS 76.6 INCHES IN 1946.
HISTORICAL RECORDS AT MANCHESTER BEGAN IN 1885, BUT WITHIN THIS
RECORD THERE REMAIN NUMEROUS YEARS OF UNAVAILABLE DATA. DUE TO THIS,
HISTORICAL RECORDS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INCOMPLETE AS SOME
SIGNIFICANT EXTREMES MAY BE MISSING FROM THE DATA. MORE CONSISTENT
MODERN RECORDS BEGAN IN 1998 AND CONTINUE TO THE PRESENT.
$$