Snow has been a no-show for some traditionally wintry cities
BOSTON — Growing up in New England, Leah Ofsevit’s most cherished childhood memories were blanketed in snow. She remembers running barefoot outside with her brother at the first sign of it, building snowmen and ice castles most winters, strapping on skis as a toddler.
Ms. Ofsevit and her husband, Jeremy Garczynski, want to pass those traditions on to their children, 3-yearold Lewis and 8-month-old Asher. They hoped this wouldbe the year.
But three months into winter, with March arriving, their skis and sleds are mostly gathering dust.
“It’s not what I envisioned for my kids,” says Ms. Ofsevit, who was on her high school cross-country ski team and lives in Melrose, just outside Boston. “Its such a big part of being a kid in New England.”
For much of the eastern United States, winter has been a bust.
In Boston, a blizzard last year dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on the city but it had seen just over 11 inches as of last week compared to an average of 38.6, according to data from the National Weather Service. At the end of February, Pittsburgh was experiencing the least amount of snow in more than 70 years. Philadelphia has gotten only 0.3 inches compared to an average of 19.2. New York, which typically gets over 2 feet by now, has seen only 2.2 inches. Similar shortfalls have been seen in Providence, Washington, D.C., and parts of West Virginia.
There have been exceptions like Buffalo, N.Y., which in November got walloped by a lake-effect storm. Yet, says David Robinson, a Rutgers University geography professor and the New Jersey state climatologist: “For the most part, it’s been a winterless winter.”
The whys
A big reason for the lack of snow has been the warmer conditions, Mr. Robinson says — conditions driven in part by human-induced climate change. The northeast is among the fastest warming regions in the country.
The region has seen much precipitation, but often it has been too warm to snow. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont all had their warmest January on record, while Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania had their second warmest, according to the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But other factors are at play.
La Nina, which involves a large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures, has led to unusual cool conditions in the eastern Pacific Ocean. As a result, the jet stream, which would bring colder conditions to the region, has kept that air closer to the Canadian border.
The polar vortex, which spins like a whirling top above the North Pole, also remained strong through mid-January, which kept the colder air bottled up in Canada, according to Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting for Verisk AER.
This could become the new normal. The weather service analyzed snowfall totals back to 2019 in the contiguous United States and found the states whose totals are furthest off their average as of mid-February were on the East Coast.
For many who pride themselves on thriving in New England winters, the unusually warm conditions have been disorienting and downright depressing. Gone are the four seasons and the scenes many have long associated with winter — snow blanketing backyards, covering trees and piling up in mounds on street corners and in parking lots.
“When I retired, I thought winter would be my joyful time because I will be able to ski when I want, be outdoors ... enjoy everything having to do with winter,” said Leah Ofsevit’s mother, Nancy Mazonson. “It’s not beautiful outside. ... It’s not mysterious. It’s just the same old same old without the magic of snow.”