Just about done?

Our last snowfall in Keene was March 9th. Since then we've gone through an extensive dry period, then a wet period that a few times did feature temperatures close to supporting snow. We've had a couple days of flurries, but otherwise, winter ended prematurely for all of New England.

Despite the anticlimactic end, this winter did feature above normal snowfall for the entire region including Cheshire country. In Keene, the season ended with 89.2" of snow (and a whole lot of ice too). I'll have a final map of seasonal totals around the region hopefully within the next month.

Here's the winter review that's also included in my summer outlook posted on the main page:

"The winter of 2008-9 started off slowly in New England through the first week of December, and then it struck in all its fury. A major storm storm system dumped 2 to 5 inches of water over much of the eastern US December 9-12. For many this was in the form of rain, however across central Massachusetts up through New Hampshire, much of this fell as freezing rain, with major ice accretion causing record power outages. The National Guard was brought in, and some schools were closed for weeks. That storm marked the start of yet another wintry December. On the following weekend, southern New England was given a quick introduction to snow. Two back-to-back storms dumped totals of 15 to 25 inches across the region. Ocean effect snow kept flakes falling non-stop for over 48 hours. Through the end of the month, two more significant snowfalls, one on the 21st and one on the 31st affected southern New England with a general 6 to 12 inches from both. Overall, the Northeast into the Ohio Valley ended with much above normal precipitation and normal temperatures. Negative PNA ridging over the Aleutians was coupled with positive anomalies in the Gulf of Alaska. Cold air was locked up in Canada for the most part, although the northern Plains did get a taste of it.

This cold all slid south into the Great Lakes and Northeast in January. Starting in mid December, a cycle began that kept this cold locked over us for 30+ days. A -PNA trough over the west forced downstream ridging in the east, however -EPO anomalies over Alaska countered it. When the EPO phase switched, -NAO anomalies over Greenland countered it. The -NAO spiked around New Years, with 2009 dawning on a very cold note. Finally, when the -NAO quit, the +PNA ridging was developing in the west, which delivered a few tremendously cold days and nights in New England during January. As for snow, a wintry mix hit the region on the 7th through the 8th, significant snowfalls occurred on the 11th, 18th, and 28th, all in the 6-12" range across SNE. Monthly temperature departures ranged from -4 to -8°C in the northeast. On the whole, precipitation was normal for SNE, with averaged storm tracks laying a streak of positive anomalies along the Appalacian Mts. Otherwise, the rest of the nation ended well below normal with the CONUS experiencing its 5th driest January in the last 115 years. Averaged height anomalies over North America were positive along the west coast and negative across the northeast US and southeast Canada.

February was a much different story with regards to wintry weather in the northeast. Between January 28 and February 19, no measurable snowfall was recorded in Keene. Only two moderate snow events were recorded; one on the 19th and one on the 22nd. This time, it wasn't warmth that did it but rather a lack of storminess. Cold air was available for the most part, with New England ending between 0 and 2°C above normal. However, persistent ridging over the center of the nation (southern Plains ended 11th warmest on record) kept a dry northwest flow over the eastern US. Nine states in the east had their top 10 driest February in the last 115 years, and overall the northeast saw its 7th driest on record, and the CONUS saw its 8th driest on record. As previously posted, The January-February period was the driest start ever recorded for the CONUS.

Toward the end of the month, while the short term weather was uneventful, all eyes were on the developing potential for a major east coast storm to start off the month of March. By the afternoon of March 2nd, A swath of 6-12 inches extended from the Carolinas up through New England. Beyond this point, SNE received one last moderate snowfall on the 9th and then winter ended, prematurely for most.