Sunday, January 18, 2009

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, it's snowing again! Once again, my social plans may be thwarted this weekend by snowfall. I look out the window, and I don't see any cars whizzing by. Only snow plows, and even these have been sluggish!

This Winter Season (2008-2009) has so far seemed a harsh one in Boston. I decided to look up some statistics on snow accumulation. Surprisingly, it's difficult to find recent statistics. Often you have to pay for the more recent data, or it hasn't been officially tabulated yet.

Looking at the data, you can see that the 1995-1996 and 1993-94 seasons were record setting. Snow accumulation even beat the 1978 big storm! 1978 is ranked the fourth highest snow accumulation since 1920. The 1995-96 season ranks number one, and the 1993-94 season ranks second highest since 1920. 1978 does, however, rank the top in terms of total amount of snow in 3 days. Also, what distinguishes 1978 for me was the snow drifts of 20 feet, right outside our 2nd floor apartment in Somerville! The wind was so intense in 1978. Since 2000, we have had a lot of precipitation, not necessarily snow. Remember all those torrential rain storms this summer? In 2008, 2006, 2005, and 2003 we have exceeded 50 inches.

In terms of records, it has snowed in June and July, in 1952 and 1955. That's hard to believe.


Boston Seasonal Snowfall Statistics (1920-1996)
                 (The season starts July 1st and ends June 30th)

Date of First Snow Date of Last Snow
Earliest Mean Latest Earliest Mean Latest
Trace Jul 10 1955 Nov 4 Dec 16 1973 Mar 25 1981 Apr 20 Jun 17 1952
1/2" Nov 4 1945 Dec 5 Jan 7 1958 Jan 30 1925 Mar 25 May 10 1977
1" Nov 10 1976 Dec 12 Jan 29 1928 Nov 24 1936 Mar 20 Apr 28 1987
2" Nov 11 1987 Dec 23 Feb 16 1980 Nov 24 1936 Mar 11 Apr 28 1987
3" Nov 11 1987 Jan 1 Mar 19 1992 Nov 24 1936 Mar 2 Apr 28 1987
4"* Nov 12 1987 Jan 10 Mar 19 1992 Jan 20 1932 Feb 26 Apr 13 1933
5"* Nov 12 1987 Jan 18 Mar 19 1992 Dec 2 1929 Feb 19 Apr 13 1933
6"* Dec 2 1929 Jan 23 Mar 29 1970 Dec 2 1929 Feb 16 Apr 6 1982
*did not occur in some years

Seasonal Average = 41.3 inches

Greatest Seasonal Snowfalls Least Seasonal Snowfalls
107.6 1995-1996 8.2 1936-1937
96.3 1993-1994 10.3 1972-1973
89.2 1947-1948 12.7 1979-1980
85.1 1977-1978 14.9 1994-1995
83.9 1992-1993 15.5 1988-1989
77.2 1944-1945 17.0 1931-1932
64.9 1922-1923 18.1 1985-1986
63.0 1963-1964 19.1 1990-1991
62.7 1933-1934 19.4 1946-1947
61.8 1981-1982 19.7 1920-1921

Most Snow in 1 Day Most Snow in 2 Days Most Snow in 3 Days

21.0 Jan 20 1978 27.1 Feb 6-7 1978 27.1 Feb 5-7 1978
20.0 Jan 24 1945 21.4 Jan 20-21 1978 25.8 Feb 24-26 1969
19.3 Feb 16 1958 20.7 Feb 24-25 1969 22.8 Jan 22-24 1945
19.0 Feb 7 1978 20.0 Jan 24-25 1945 21.7 Jan 18-20 1978
15.0 Feb 20 1934 19.7 Mar 3-4 1960
14.3 Feb 4 1961
13.8 Jan 7 1977

Year to Date (Jan - Dec) Precipitation Northeast Region

(sorted by year)

Year

Precipitation
(Inches)

Rank
Based on the
Time Period Selected
(1996-2008)
*

Rank
Based on the
Period of Record
(1895-2008)
*

2008 50.15 10109
2007 45.23 7 98
2006 50.04 9108
2005 50.30 11111
2004 46.02 8101
2003 50.68 12112
2002 43.50 5 84
2001 34.04 1 4
2000 44.48 6 90
1999 42.47 3 73
1998 42.85 4 75
1997 39.37 2 39
1996 53.79 13114
Year to Date (Jan - Dec) 1901 - 2000 Average = 41.08 Inches
Year to Date (Jan - Dec) 1996 - 2008 Trend = 4.36 Inches / Decade

Output Graph

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember 93-94, 95-96 very well. I enjoyed both of those winters, especially the first one. I wrote my thesis on those snow days.

Jonathan