Winter 2016/2017 Recap

[440_chazz]

John,

Once again this winter was a dud for us in the south, northern WI wasn't the best, and the UP was mediocre with the snowbelts maintaining the snow. Don't get me wrong, the blinding LES blizzard in December was awesome. My wife calls me crazy for loving those kind of storms. HAHA.

This winter had similarities to the winter of 2011/2012 where a La Nina was predicted and above average snow was predicted but instead, marginal snow conditions persisted and March was the warmest on record with 70s and 80s. This winter had a good start but then a warmup at Christmas, then cold, then a warmup in late January, then cold, and then a big warm up that killed the season for most in February. Is this the new norm for La Nina winters? The winter seemed like last year's El Nino winter but this time around the west got record breaking precip that killed the drought in California. Isn't that typical of an El Nino winter where the west gets soaked?

Thanks

 

[old abe]

2nd year in a row, only riding at home limited to our farm on only 2 occasions. It really sucks!!! Like it or not, so much changed from 50 years ago for sure!!!

 

[cmharcou]

Here in Indiana we got zero snow. Maybe a dusting at a time. Never enough to ride. Maybe total of 6" all year. Terrible and maybe the mildest winter I can remember. 70 degrees in February.

 

[jd]

One thing we can always count on is that the weather will not completely follow the playbook. It is just a matter of how far it deviates!

So while there were many predictions for a harsh winter, I am not sure that they were really warranted. I know I missed the mark as well, with an average snowfall/temp idea for the Midwest. I really cannot explain why things did not work out, that is one of the reasons why I continue to caution people against putting too much faith into any seasonal forecast, as there are just not too many reliable tools available to make them.