Storm Smashes Boston Snow Record For October; Biggest Total Since Last Year
BOSTON (CBS) -- Alrighty then…
You know that whole "if you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute" phrase that gets tossed around like a fresh salad? It's never been more true than right now.
What do you get when you combine five straight above average (warm) months with a severe/extreme drought? Well, in New England you get a record October snowstorm! Are you kidding me! Never in Boston's long and storied weather history (since 1872) has Boston had more than 1.1" of snow in an October storm or for that matter in the entire month…until Friday.
We didn't just break the record for snow in October, we smashed it. We more than tripled it! As of this writing, Boston's (Logan) snow total sits at 3.5" and climbing. Pumpkins are buried. Streets are white. Trees are sagging. Kids are sledding!
Want more snow stats? I got 'em!
Our last snow in Boston in the 2019-2020 season came on April 18th (0.7"). That is remarkably late in the year for nearly an inch of snow in Boston. Well, combine that late-season snow with this early season record (October 30) and that leaves just 193 days between snow seasons in Boston in 2020. Yet another record. We edged out the 194-day snow break back in 1987. 2020, the year that keeps on giving and giving.
OK, I got one more for you…3.5" of snow in Boston Friday…that is more than Boston received in the entire remaining winter from January 19th onward last winter. Yup, you read that right, we got more snow Friday than we got in late Jan-Feb-Mar-April combined!
OK, come on, one more, this is too fun…Today's 3.5" snowstorm was the biggest snowstorm of the year 2020! We surpassed the 3.0" storm on January 18th today. You have to go all the way back to December 1-3, 2019 for a bigger accumulation (6.1").
So, what does all this mean? We gotta be in for a whopper of a snow season if it is snowing THIS much THIS early right? Well, actually history tells us the opposite. If you go back and look at the other three times that Boston has recorded snow in October, they were all followed by below-average snowfall seasons. That includes the most recent, 2011 "Snow-tober" event…Boston received just 9.3" of snow for that entire winter!
Same story in Worcester…Todays snow ranks as the fourth-highest on record (4.1") in Worcester in October. And if you take the rest of the top five, one (1962) had a near-average snow season and the rest were all WELL below average.
Bottom line, early snow does NOT always equal big snow season.
Finally, if you are thinking you'd better hurry up and gas up your snowblower, you can relax, you got time. While there may be a few flurries Monday or early Tuesday with a cold shot, after that, November is looking toasty. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we hit 70+ later next week. Again, if you don't like Friday's weather…just wait…
