GREENSBORO, N.C. — Why doesn't it snow like it used to? It's a question I get time and time again during the winter. Sure, it seems like it used to be a lot snowier when you were a kid… But is it true? Let's take a look at the numbers.
First, a starting point. If you average all the winters in Triad history, you'll find we average about 8 inches per year. That's a middle ground – several years above that, and several years below. It's an average.
Now, let's take a look at the numbers. Throughout the years, we've had a lot of ups and downs with snow – but the trendline, is actually pretty consistent. That's right. Looking at the whole picture, we're not getting snowier or less snowy over time dating back to the 1920s.
Breaking it down another way reveals something interesting.
Going by decade, we can see that if you're a child of the 60s or 70s – you played in more snow. What's more interesting, is that the 40s were our least snowy decade, followed by the 80s and 90s. Lately, we've actually been seeing *more snow* again.
To look at it another way, how *often* does it snow? Historically, our average is between 2 and 3 days per year – which hasn't changed much. Breaking it down by decade shows that there was a peak in snowy days during the 60s and 70s, but that we're getting snow at a very healthy clip nowadays compared to average. So, we're doing just fine in the snow department here too.
So, if snow data is fairly consistent looking at the long view, how does this explain our warmer winters?
Looking at the data, our winter-time temperatures have been getting warmer consistently through the years. The average temp during snow season – December to March – has warmed up 3 degrees since the 1930s to today. You'd think this would mean less snow, but that just hasn't been the case. Warmer winters don't *necessarily* mean that we see less snow.
So, does it snow like it used to?
To me, the data says yes – it does. But, it depends on when you grew up!
If you're a child of the 60s and 70s you were treated to some of the snowiest winters in Triad history, so it's a bit different than if you grew up in the 40s or 80s or 90s – you get the idea.
Of course, this winter is a bad one to have this conversation.
We're currently in one of the great "snow droughts" in Triad history. Over 420 days and counting.
We'll be carefully watching the rest of February and March. It's been almost 30 years, since 1992, that we've had a winter with only a trace of snow.
Even though it's been warm, we still have almost 2 months to go - and we'll be watching!