Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000 CXUS51 KGYX 051044 CLSMHT PWMCLSMHT 000 TTAA00 GYX 031657 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 0545 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. $$