Strange snow season: Florida town beats Salt Lake City in January
Snow season totals have been turned upside down, with one Florida town in recording more snow than Salt Lake City. Most of the west is in a snow drought, which could spell future problems.
Cities such as Richmond, New York, Boston and even Charlotte are all above their average snowfall for the season so far, while Salt Lake City has had only a trace the whole winter.
We're two-thirds of the way through meteorological winter -- December, January and February -- and some regions of the United States are receiving more snow than usual, while others are falling well short of the historical average.
As of Feb. 2, data from NOAA's National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) shows that snow currently covers the ground in the bulk of the eastern half of the nation, but only covers the mountains in the West. The 40.5% snow coverage for the entire country is near the historical average for January going into February.
Most of the western two-thirds of the country, is stuck at near-zero percent of the historical average snowfall through Dec. 9.
On the other hand, parts of the Midwest and Northeast are above the historical average to date. And the parts of the South — much of Texas, northern Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas — are 3 to 6 times their historical average.
West Coast remains in snow drought
The city of Marianna, in the Florida Panhandle, has recorded 1.3 inches of snow this season, all of that in January. Meanwhile, Salt Lake City, Utah, only got a trace of snow — just snowflakes. The National Weather Service office there pointed out that cities all over the nation have beaten Salt Lake for January snowfall. Video of a ski slope at Park City, Utah, showed bare ground on Feb. 1.
The lack of snow for the West isn't limited to Salt Lake City. The biggest deficits in the West at official NWS snow stations include Lander, Wyoming, missing 36 inches; Flagstaff, Arizona, at -34.3 inches; Casper, Wyoming, missing 26.6 inches; and Elko, Nevada, at -22.3 inches.
The snow cover in the Western United States is the lowest percentage in the modern record, which begins in 2001. The snow water equivalent, or the amount of liquid in the snowpack, is under 50 percent for about half the area measured.
What's causing the lack of snow?
"The wet season started off well in California with above-average precipitation each month from October through December. However, though it was still wet through the first week in January, very little rain has fallen since," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said.
Zehr added that most storms have had high snow levels, meaning that only the tops of the mountains get the snow. All that has conspired to reduce the snowpack, or amount of water stored in snow. This snow drought in the West could have consequences down the road.
"A lack of deep snow over the winter in this area leads to less available water when the spring thaw hits," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski explained.
"Many aquifers are replenished by the runoff from melting snow in the spring, so with less replenishment, the stage is set for severe problems, especially if an abnormally dry pattern occurs in the summer. Also when the ground dries out faster in the spring, due to low snow from the winter, that sets the stage for vegetation to dry out faster and potentially lengthen the fire season," Sosnowski added.
Carolinas, Great Lakes, I-95 corridor at historic snow surplus
After a historic snowfall last weekend, most of the Carolinas are at 300 to 500 percent, or more, of their historical average, with major cities getting more than a year's worth of snow in one day.
Snowdrifts in Nags Head, North Carolina. (Jason Pappenheim)
Parts of the favored lake-effect snow areas are above normal as well. The top five snowiest NWS stations compared to historical average are Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at 51.7 inches above average; Syracuse, New York, at +38 inches; South Bend, Indiana, at 34.4 inches above average; Muskegon, Michigan, with +33.9 inches; and Rochester, New York, at +24.9 inches. Much of this is due to unusual cold in December and January.
Most of the I-95 corridor in the Northeast is above normal, with New York City 6.8 inches ahead of schedule; Boston is at +8.8; Philadelphia with an average of 4.2; and Baltimore running 4.1 inches over usual.
Who will receive more snow in February?
Waves of frigid air will continue to be released into much of the eastern United States through at least the middle of the month, AccuWeather meteorologists say. The ongoing pattern may trend stormier, with areas of snow and ice potentially threatening to reach into large areas of the Plains, Mississippi Valley, Appalachians and Atlantic Seaboard in the coming weeks.
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