![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storm.uml.edu\/~metweb\/newBlog\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/snowfall-total.jpg\")
<\/a>\nGraph courtesy of NOAA NowData.<\/em><\/p>\n
When I did my evaluation of the winter up until February 15th, the city of Lowell had only seen one significant storm \u2013 and that was over a month prior on January 4th! We certainly made up for it in March. It\u2019s safe to say that this winter was in no means a \u2018bust.\u2019 While a large chunk of New Englanders do not like the snow, you must admit that a snowstorm in New England makes beautiful scenery.<\/p>\n
Underneath the storm category, I must include the terrible windstorm that we had nearly a month ago. On that Friday, March 2nd, we saw blistering winds and pouring rain that made the day worse than it had to be. The city saw over an inch and a half of rain and sustained winds of over 40 mph. Many trees and power lines fell to the Earth as the wind howled throughout the day.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s look upon the temperatures of the winter \u2013 and these were all over the place!<\/p>\n
This winter featured record low temperatures and record high temperatures \u2013 both an oddity for this time of the year! On the high end of the spectrum, Lowell saw a record high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit on February 21st and an almost record high of 70 degrees on February 20th. On the other side, we had a record low temperature of -9 degrees Fahrenheit on January 7th. As portrayed in the graph, the temperatures were all over the place throughout the course of the winter months. Over the span of the last week in December and the first week and a half of January, temperatures struggled to climb over 25 degrees Fahrenheit, making that time period the coldest part of the winter. After the second week of January, the temperatures rebounded nicely and stayed at or above average for *most* of the remainder of the winter. We did have some slightly lower than average temperatures for a few days in March.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk about the Greenland Block, and how it caused 3 storms in 11 days.<\/p>\n What is the \u2018Greenland Block\u2019 you ask? It is a term that is used as a nickname of sorts for the North Atlantic Oscillation, or the NAO. When this occurs, there is usually a high-pressure ridge sitting over Greenland, and a cold air trough that stems from Canada. This trough digs deep into the United States and generally makes the Northeast colder and stormier. Hence why New England was plagued with 3 storms in 11 days.<\/p>\n
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\nGraph courtesy of NOAA NowData.<\/em><\/p>\n