Winter 2025/26 Banter Thread

[DocATL]

Nah. There's just a lot of unrealistic expectations on this board for where people live. lol

More than 1.1 inches of snow in February is not unrealistic.

[roardog]

8 minutes ago, DocATL said:

More than 1.1 inches of snow in February is not unrealistic.

I thought we were talking about the winter not February.

[Chicago Storm]

I thought we were talking about the winter not February.

he’s stuck on february.

[Chicago Storm]

More than 1.1 inches of snow in February is not unrealistic.

well, if you’re going that route…

then the amount of snow that occurred in november is generally something that is unrealistic.

[BeastFromTheEast]

Clunker months are going to happen even in an A/B level winter.

IMO It’s all about the seasonal snow fall total at the end. 

Solid B for me in the NW burbs with the memorable NOV. 

Here’s a hypothetical, what if we received the ~30” at ORD in 3 even 10” shots or 4-7.5” storms?
 

Would that change any one’s grades? 

[cyclone77]

Can't go any better than a D without a single grass topper event after Dec 7th.  Would easily be F- yet again without the awesome start to winter.

[DocATL]

he’s stuck on february.

I’ll be stuck on March soon.

[DocATL]

Also an A doesn’t mean we met our expectations, it means we greatly exceeded them. So a C+ takes into account the November surprise and the sputtering CAD’s of January. All decent.

[BeastFromTheEast]

You live by climo and die by climo, beggars can’t be choosers. 

For some perspective we have 50+  seasons on record of below 30” at ORD. 
 

 

https://www.weather.gov/lot/Chicago_seasonal_snow

[DocATL]

You live by climo and die by climo, beggars can’t be choosers. 
For some perspective we have 50+  seasons on record of below 30” at ORD. 
 
 
https://www.weather.gov/lot/Chicago_seasonal_snow

If we had weather chats through those 50 we would have bitched through most of them.

[BeastFromTheEast]

3 minutes ago, DocATL said:

If we had weather chats through those 50 we would have bitched through most of them.


.

After last year’s dog turd of a winter, I am satisfied with this years experience. Hell of an improvement from last year if we’re keeping it real. 
 

we had 17” or whatever it was at ORD last season

[sbnwx85]

75” of snow that started in mid-November. Constant LES. Tundra-like feel at times. No ice storms. A well-timed torch in February with thunderstorms before more snow. Solid A. Would be A+ if we had one more good synoptic event.

[Chicago916]

Haha I wasn't even complaining but just giving my take. I know climo, but this season in its entirety for me was eh. Not the most enjoyable despite a couple events. I think the lack of even modeled storms ruined the season too for me because that at least gives hope and opportunity. Too many mid/long range storms went poof and never came back vs. allowing for longer tracking of trends that actually became reality. 

[st0rmbrkr]

Four straight days of 40s with rain to end next week, IMO winter is done.  Yes, we can get another snow storm but the highs will erase any snowpack as soon as it comes.  B- rating for me too, steady snow, but only one real big event at the start of December and then steady 1" events with the cold kept the ground covered here for a good amount of time.  I guess this is better than the big events just missing out to the south or north in the final 24.

[Chicago Storm]

statistical information on winter in chicago, since the historic winter of 2013/14...

like i've said, this is the snowiest and coldest season we've seen in years.

[mimillman]

14 hours ago, Chicago Storm said:

statistical information on winter in chicago, since the historic winter of 2013/14...

like i've said, this is the snowiest and coldest season we've seen in years.

True, goes to show you how terrible the prior 3 years were. Those were the exception, not this year.

Though the back half of this winter is also exceptionally terrible. It is very possible that Chicago will end up below average again on snowfall.

[Stebo]

If we get a big dog at some point between now and April I would say A, but I can't go more than a flat B. Personally I am not one who enjoys prolonged cold so that doesn't help the grade before someone says Detroit has had a good winter. We have had a consistent winter with periodic snows but our biggest storm is only like 5.9". It has been endless penny fluff.

[michsnowfreak]

1 hour ago, Stebo said:

If we get a big dog at some point between now and April I would say A, but I can't go more than a flat B. Personally I am not one who enjoys prolonged cold so that doesn't help the grade before someone says Detroit has had a good winter. We have had a consistent winter with periodic snows but our biggest storm is only like 5.9". It has been endless penny fluff.

I say this every year, but I don't grade til April. Its minimal, but March/April does have a slight impact on my grade. It will likely be in A-/B+ territory, and certainly no lower than a B+

I love the endless cold/snowcover as you know, so it was really an excellent winter. No huge storms (biggest mby 6.2", biggest DTW 6.1") and an almost comical no white Christmas (considering the continuous snowcover that began in late November) are the only real mars on the grade. I wouldve liked to kept the snowpack into March but deep winter started unusually early, so wont dock for that. 

I never count this into grades, but it seemed locally that the models had an atrocious winter performance. There were both rugpulls and last minute surprises.

AWSSI still has Detroit in an "extreme" winter. A mild March would likely knock it down to "severe" but no further.

https://mrcc.purdue.edu/research/AWSSI/chart?stn=DTWthr

You can definitely see it was an eastern sub winter. Some random cities rankings to date:

Mild- International Falls

Moderate- Minneapolis, Des Moines, Quad Cities, Rockford

Average- Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Alpena

Severe- Sault Ste Marie, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Toledo, Indianapolis

Extreme- Detroit, Flint, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland

[Brian D]

B+ is my grade. A good mix of colder/warmer wx, and lots of little snows (and some rn). 2 snow events that were very cool. 1st was the LES dump of 6" in 3hrs on 11/29, and of course the blizzard of 2/18 which netted me 18", and shutdown Hwy 61 along the shore from DLH to the border for a good part of the day. Depending on what comes in the next couple weeks could bump it up into the A grade. Winter is not a strict DJF for me, but more like mid-Nov thru mid-March.

[Brian D]

February 27

1981: Thunderstorms move across Minnesota, dumping 1.61 inches of rain at Montevideo. Many places were glazed over with ice.

 

1948: A severe ice storm occurs over central Minnesota. At the St. Cloud Weather Office 1/2 inch of clear ice was measured. 65 telephone poles were down in St. Cloud.

For Friday, February 27, 2026
1717 - What was perhaps the greatest snow in New England history commenced on this date. During a ten day period a series of four snowstorms dumped three feet of snow upon Boston, and the city was snowbound for two weeks. Up to six feet of snow was reported farther to the north, and drifts covered many one story homes. (David Ludlum)
1969 - A record snowstorm in Maine came to an end. Two to four feet of snow buried southern and central Maine, with a state record of 57 inches reported at West Forks. Drifts covered many single story homes, and the weight of the snow collapsed many roofs. Two to four feet of snow also buried northeastern Vermont and northeastern Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, Mount Washington NH reported 97.8 inches of snow, a record storm total for New England. (24th-28th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
1987 - A storm spread heavy snow into the Central High Plains Region, and produced severe thunderstorms in the Southern Plains. Snowfall totals in western Nebraska ranged up to 19 inches at Sydney. Severe thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced baseball size hail at Stringtown and Atoka. A storm in the eastern U.S. produced heavy rain over the Carolinas and heavy snow in the southern Appalachians and piedmont region. Five inches of rain left four feet of water in the streets of Greenville SC. Snowfall totals in southwestern Virginia ranged up to 20 inches. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1988 - Thunderstorms along a cold front produced heavy rain in southern California, with up to 2.52 inches reported in Ventura County. Strong winds accompanying the rain gusted to 55 mph in the Tehachapi Mountains. Rapid City SD established a February record with an afternoon high of 75 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1989 - Rain and snow prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Up to eight inches of snow blanketed north central Tennessee, and snowfall totals in western North Carolina ranged up to 14 inches at Mount Mitchell. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 - A winter storm produced heavy snow in southeastern Colorado, with 12 inches reported at Lamar. The same storm produced severe thunderstorms over the Southern High Plains, with wind gusts to 93 mph reported at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Low pressure brought high winds to the Prince William Sound area of Alaska. Big River Lakes reported wind gusts to 92 mph. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
2010 - A weak EF0 tornado causes no damage as it moved across California's southern San Joaquin Valley. However it is the only tornado reported in the United States during the month. According to the Storm Prediction Center only five months since 1950 have lacked a tornado report. <a href="http://islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/diaryfeb.htm">The Weather Doctor</a>

[Malacka11]

23 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

I say this every year, but I don't grade til April. Its minimal, but March/April does have a slight impact on my grade. It will likely be in A-/B+ territory, and certainly no lower than a B+

I love the endless cold/snowcover as you know, so it was really an excellent winter. No huge storms (biggest mby 6.2", biggest DTW 6.1") and an almost comical no white Christmas (considering the continuous snowcover that began in late November) are the only real mars on the grade. I wouldve liked to kept the snowpack into March but deep winter started unusually early, so wont dock for that. 

I never count this into grades, but it seemed locally that the models had an atrocious winter performance. There were both rugpulls and last minute surprises.

AWSSI still has Detroit in an "extreme" winter. A mild March would likely knock it down to "severe" but no further.

https://mrcc.purdue.edu/research/AWSSI/chart?stn=DTWthr

You can definitely see it was an eastern sub winter. Some random cities rankings to date:

Mild- International Falls

Moderate- Minneapolis, Des Moines, Quad Cities, Rockford

Average- Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Alpena

Severe- Sault Ste Marie, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Toledo, Indianapolis

Extreme- Detroit, Flint, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland

That's a cool little tool, thanks. I love being able to feel all sciencey

[Stebo]

53 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

I say this every year, but I don't grade til April. Its minimal, but March/April does have a slight impact on my grade. It will likely be in A-/B+ territory, and certainly no lower than a B+

I love the endless cold/snowcover as you know, so it was really an excellent winter. No huge storms (biggest mby 6.2", biggest DTW 6.1") and an almost comical no white Christmas (considering the continuous snowcover that began in late November) are the only real mars on the grade. I wouldve liked to kept the snowpack into March but deep winter started unusually early, so wont dock for that. 

I never count this into grades, but it seemed locally that the models had an atrocious winter performance. There were both rugpulls and last minute surprises.

AWSSI still has Detroit in an "extreme" winter. A mild March would likely knock it down to "severe" but no further.

https://mrcc.purdue.edu/research/AWSSI/chart?stn=DTWthr

You can definitely see it was an eastern sub winter. Some random cities rankings to date:

Mild- International Falls

Moderate- Minneapolis, Des Moines, Quad Cities, Rockford

Average- Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Alpena

Severe- Sault Ste Marie, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Toledo, Indianapolis

Extreme- Detroit, Flint, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland

yeah see those categories on AWSSI are influenced by cold as well, and to me really cold weather doesn't have any appeal, I am more for the snowfall/big storms.

[DocATL]

If we get a big dog at some point between now and April I would say A, but I can't go more than a flat B. Personally I am not one who enjoys prolonged cold so that doesn't help the grade before someone says Detroit has had a good winter. We have had a consistent winter with periodic snows but our biggest storm is only like 5.9". It has been endless penny fluff.

Based on the Euro weeklies, March is highly doubtful. Gonna have to hope for an April surprise.

[Brian D]

Just thought I'd put this up. Hunga Tonga's massive seawater injection has been hangin tough in the stratosphere. Latest looks like that may be coming to an end this year, tho. We'll see how it progresses. 

[Stebo]

8 minutes ago, DocATL said:

Based on the Euro weeklies, March is highly doubtful. Gonna have to hope for an April surprise.

Yeah I don't think there is even a chance until the 3rd week of March. There is a real possibility we don't make normal if March is very empty for snow.

[OrdIowPitMsp]

Can’t give a winter grade when big dog season is upon us in MN. I love the active look even it means rain imby with a footer a few counties north.

[roardog]

3 hours ago, Stebo said:

Yeah I don't think there is even a chance until the 3rd week of March. There is a real possibility we don't make normal if March is very empty for snow.

It looks active at least. Then Canada should fill with very cold air again by mid month so I could see a late season snowstorm being possible with that type of pattern.

[michsnowfreak]

4 hours ago, Malacka11 said:

That's a cool little tool, thanks. I love being able to feel all sciencey

Its a cool index. Ranks every winter since 1950.

[michsnowfreak]

3 hours ago, Stebo said:

Yeah I don't think there is even a chance until the 3rd week of March. There is a real possibility we don't make normal if March is very empty for snow.

Anything is possible but that is highly unlikely. March/April snows pop up with short notice regardless how cold/mild the pattern is. Detroit is at 38.8" to date. The current annual avg is considered 42.7", but likely involves a bit of quality control as the raw number is closer to 44". The 2000s-2010s were abnormally snowy as we all remember. The period of record avg is 40.9".