Just a simple reflection- past 10 snow seasons

[gymengineer]

I’ve always taken the long game as a DC area lifer and I’ve described both good and bleak stretches of DC area snow history. Newspapers did their Decade review heading into 2020 with the CWG opting to fold the 2010 part of 2009-2010 into their decade review

So this is the simplest start of the review of the past 10 winters. I can break it down much more if people have questions.

The past 10 snow seasons’ average:

IAD: 27.2”  (above average)

DCA: 17.2” (above average) 

BWI: 24.1” (above average)

Number of the past 10 snow seasons that were above average:

IAD: 5

DCA: 5

BWI: 4

In other words, just wait and you’ll have a good snow year in our current snow regime.... in spite of any reactionary meltdown every week.

[WinterWxLuvr]

It’s been a good ten years.

[WVclimo]

Haven't had a very bad snowfall season here in a while.  Hoping this year isn't the start of one of those streaks of 3-4 meager seasons in a row, like we get in the mid-Atlantic periodically.  Don't like seeing a Nina showing up in the long-range progs for next winter.  Last 10 winters before this one in my yard:

09-10: 82.9"

10-11: 20.3"

11-12:   8.4"

12-13: 23.4"

13-14: 52.4"

14-15: 36.7"

15-16: 40.8"

16-17: 13.3”

17-18: 22.7"

18-19: 37.0"

[North Balti Zen]

10 hours ago, WinterWxLuvr said:

It’s been a good ten years.

On balance. In the Balt City/BWI area it has been boom or bust. Two historically awful snowfall seasons and one close to historically awful balanced out with two massive years and the Jan. 2016 save. It looks good on average, but those years have been anything but average on balance. I don't know if that fits the historic pattern for snowfalls in this part of the area, but for a decade it has been go big or go home to make it work out in general for inside 695 down to BWI over to Wes's area...

[RevWarReenactor]

I feel like 10 years is a heck of a long time to look at things. We've had 4 bad years in a row now. Which is frustrating.

[gymengineer]

It's not the 1960's, but having lived through the 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's and reviewed the stats on the 1970's, I would always prefer the past 10 snow seasons. Yes, it includes 09/10 to start. Then 13/14, 14/15, 15/16 were three very different ways to get to above average. The 2016 blizzard was the best single storm in my lifetime at my location.

The 70's through the 00's had plenty of crap seasons for the three airports too, so nothing about 16/17 and 17/18 really phased me. If you can get through 75/76 or 80/81 or 88/89 or the 96/97-97/98 combo or 01/02 or 07/08 or multiple other horrid seasons without dying, then 16/17 or 17/18 are just part of the deal of being in this area. Probably the dividing line for looking at the past 10 seasons is last season. Of course the immediate DC area got in on the 10-12" storm, which the morning after still had the feel of  "This was a big one." 

[wxdude64]

5 hours ago, WVclimo said:

Haven't had a very bad snowfall season here in a while.  Hoping this year isn't the start of one of those streaks of 3-4 meager seasons in a row, like we get in the mid-Atlantic periodically.  Don't like seeing a Nina showing up in the long-range progs for next winter.  Last 10 winters before this one in my yard:

09-10: 82.9"

10-11: 20.3"

11-12: 8.4"

12-13: 23.4"

13-14: 52.4"

14-15: 36.7"

15-16: 40.8"

16-17: 13.3”

17-18: 22.7"

18-19: 37.0"

'16/'17 was horrific here, 6.4 inches. But even including that, a + - 29 inch average over those years here.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

14/15 seems way more anomalous to me now then 09/10 and 15/16. Especially February 2015- how did we ever manage to have that much cold?