Winter 2009-10 Review

An early spring saved us from what had become a snowy winter. Actually, the snow came in spurts. The fall was warm. There was little snow until mid December, and most of that occurred in the snow belt. Most of us saw snow in early January and then again late in the month. February brought the big snows to most of the area. In fact, February was the snowiest on record for many of our observing sites. The Mansfield Airport reported 52.5 inches of snow for February 2010. That is more snow than normally expected in an entire winter!

The February wallop came in three parts. The first blast was the largest with the area from Mansfield to Canton to Youngstown getting over a foot of snow on February 5 and 6th. Youngstown and points south got 18 inches or more! More snow came on the 9th and 10th with yet another storm on the 15 and 16th. In little more than a week, most of the area had received 2 to 3 feet of snow. It took the rest of the month to dig out!

Why all the snow in what was supposed to be a warm and dry El Nino winter? El Nino can be a fickle pattern for the lower Great Lakes. We are just far enough southeast to sometimes share in the southern and east coast storms of El Nino. We are just far enough north to have cold air for snow. We had some help this winter from a persistent blocking pattern over eastern Canada that fed cold air southward across the eastern Great Lakes.

Summary of Snowfall at Climate Sites
2009-10	Oct 09	Nov 09	Dec 09	Jan 10	Feb 10	Mar 10	Apr 10	May 10	Total 2009-10
Toledo	0.0	T	7.0	8.0	24.1	T	0.0	0.0	39.1
Mansfield	0.0	T	11.6	16.5	52.5	3.5	T	0.0	84.1
Cleveland	0.0	1.2	6.9	18.6	31.4	1.4	T	0.0	59.5
Akron-Canton	T	T	9.3	14.7	37.2	1.9	T	0.0	63.1
Youngstown	0.6	0.2	12.6	24.9	36.3	1.1	T	T	75.7
Erie PA	T	T	28.7	31.9	30.6	0.2	T	0.0	91.4