A look at the snow winners and losers this winter

With the latest cross-country storm moving away from the East Coast today, another is lined up to follow. It’ll drop some snow along the international border with Canada this weekend, one of the few zones not yet done with the white stuff for the season.

Weather Watch

Weekend storm system. The next low pressure is prepped to journey the nation’s midsection this weekend. It’ll deliver up to half a foot or more of snow to parts of the upper Midwest and southern Ontario Province in Canada. A modest severe storm threat will also likely develop from east Texas through the Mid-South on Sunday.

Lightning links

New batch of U.S. upper-air observations axed due to staffing cuts. (as forecast…)

AI-driven weather prediction breakthrough reported.

Hurricane Hunters increasingly missing mission requirements in powerful storm systems.

Recapping winter’s snowfall

Spring is here. And for much of the Lower 48, snow is a thought to shelve until next fall or beyond.

The big losers when it comes to snowfall this season were focused along the northern tier east of the Rockies. Storm tracks squashed south during the core of winter meant there was often scant moisture despite plentiful cold.

Exceptions to the low-snow rule were off the Great Lakes and into the mountains of Vermont or West Virginia. In these zones, frequent shots of cold air helped create lake effect snow that carried into the high-elevation areas nearby.

Significant zones in the central and southeast U.S. witnessed above average snowfall. In many of these locations it doesn’t take much, but the winter will be remembered for big snows in odd places, like New Orleans where a record 8 inches fell.

Some parts of the Gulf (of Mexico) coast in Louisiana to Florida saw as much snow as portions of the Midwest. For instance, Moline in northwest Illinois has recorded about 8 inches compared to as much as a foot in south-central Louisiana.

The southern Cascades into Idaho’s Bitterroot had a consistent snow bounty with a primary storm track near or south of that region. It’s a mixed bag elsewhere in the intermountain region, with the Sierra Nevada largely a bit lower than average and similar in the Rockies.

Of course, locales like the central and northern Rockies can still see major snow through April or even May.

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Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster that connects weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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