Fozz

NW Montgomery county is a good spot if you want to be relatively close to DC and also be on the winning side of many marginal storms. Clarksburg and Gaithersburg are pretty good spots for that. Damascus is a great spot for snow, but it's about an hour away, so long commutes would be the tradeoff. If you're looking at Virginia, then Reston, Sterling, or anywhere close to IAD would help. Even Tyson's Corner and Vienna do well in a lot of storms, though they are expensive and upscale. Here's a clearer version of the map psuhoffman posted. It's pretty accurate for the most part (though it's a bit old and based on 1971-2000 averages), but I'd say that in many of the north/west spots, it might even be slightly underdone (Damascus for example probably averages 30).

Yeah I learned that lesson afterwards. I was still only 24 back then and immature in many ways, but I'd like to think I have a more balanced perspective now, though to be fair I haven't been "tested" in the same way since then so you never know for sure. Honestly though, if there's another Feb 2010 type storm that screws New England, I'll be happy for all of you... I'll never forget where I came from.

Is it a similar mechanism to the backdoor cold fronts that are common in the spring, or is this unrelated?

That winter was extremely frustrating for those of us in the mid-Atlantic, especially before Valentine's day which was when it actually turned pretty good afterwards. I remember the mood in our forum and it might have been the origin of your panic threads. 2016-17 was easier to deal with than late Jan to early Feb 2015. But I haven't divorced winter... I have no reason to give up especially now that I'm so much further north.

30 years is a good sample size but it's also relatively recent enough to reflect something close to current norms. It's kinda arbitrary but it usually works.

These past few days have been a bit cooler than I prefer, so I'm kinda looking forward to the coming warmth.

Yeah I wouldn't rule it out. Weather patterns seem to be getting more wild lately.

How much snow do you average?

Yeah, I think by then the atmosphere had exhausted itself. But what an incredible period it was.... getting 100” in a month is something you’d only expect on a mountain or in the LES snow belts.

I sometimes feel the same way about 2009-10 in the mid-Atlantic. It was a total shutout after Feb 10, even though the blocking pattern continued for the rest of the month and was widely expected to last into March. But nothing really produced, and the late month “Snowicane” was a complete miss. Ji famously complained/trolled about the early ending, as well as the lame January. Much of 2009-10 in the mid-Atlantic was one epic storm in December and an unbelievable 12 day period from the end of January into the first 10 days of February. But the rest of the season was uneventful, especially in the coastal plain. I can only imagine what it would’ve been like if those slower periods had been more interesting....

So far I like everyone here. You're all good peeps.

Maybe... I'll probably make a decision about ski passes next month since I'm not yet settled, but Wachusett is the closest decent ski area to my location so I'm kinda interested.

Yeah that's what I figured. Same is true for Ji.

I don't know if I've ever interacted with CT Blizz before... he seems to be the Ji of this subforum.

Thanks! It feels really nice here in terms of weather, and maybe it was due to me being sent away from RI from mid June to late August, but I haven't really experienced any truly hot days here. If anything it tells me that the worst of summer tends to be much shorter here than what I'm used to, and even if we get some 80+ degree days in the next week or two, I'm just going to enjoy them and spray myself to keep the EEE away.

ORHwx made a pretty good map that shows a snowfall average over 60" in NW RI (including Foster and Gloucester), and as some others have said, right around 50" in Cumberland. On another note, I'm quite amazed at how quickly the average increases in western CT as you go further inland.

I joined Eastern in 2007 or 08, so it’s been at least 11 years now. Glad to be up here in New England now... I’ve envied you guys for years. Thanks Diane! Hope you’re doing alright in the southern heat... it seems relentless.

I'm looking forward to the fall colors in this area, as well as further north. I'm thinking mid October would be a good time for here, while NNE peaks a bit earlier.

I think he's in Cumberland. Probably in the higher terrain near Diamond Hill. I've been told that Woonsocket isn't the best area to live in.

Cumberland gets quite a bit more than 33" from what I've been told. PVD is actually in Warwick, and its average is a bit deflated since the 90s had a lot of missing data.

Thanks! I'm working in Woonsocket, and I'm hoping for an apartment in Cumberland. As soon as I move in, I'll update my location to be more precise.

Hey weathafella... I got a job in northern RI. My company has many different locations but this is where they placed me for the time being. Can’t really complain... and I hope I get to see more of New England. Average snowfall in my new location seems to be about double what it was where I grew up.

That’s an amazing shot. Regarding that brightness near the horizon, is it zodiacal light, or is it light pollution in the distance? Seeing the Milky Way is pretty cool, but what I really want is to also see the zodiacal light, and I think that requires super dark skies.

Yeah, I was also thinking about the White mountains... that seems to be a very nice spot to see the stars, as well as for skiing, snowmobiling, and seeing the fall colors.

I’ve been moved around a couple of times before they decided that I’m staying in RI after all. Hopefully I’ll soon be settled.