Minnesota Vs. East Coast: Whose Winter Is Tougher?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Another winter storm is about to pound the East Coast with heavy snow and hurricane-force winds. It will be the fourth Nor'easter to slam states from the Mid-Atlantic to New England this season.
So, that had us wondering: Whose winter is tougher? Good Question.
It can seem like a few snowflakes on the East Coast become front-page news, prompting some Minnesotans to proclaim, "Those guys are babies."
But, are they? We asked WCCO Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer and WBZ Meteorologist Eric Fisher to weigh in.
"I will wave the white flag when it comes to snowfall this year," said Shaffer. "But, I know your call letters are WBZ. Here WBZ stands for well-below zero, and that's how we live our lives."
The average January high in the Twin Cities is 22 degrees. In Boston, it's 37 degrees and Philadelphia 41 degrees.
"The cold is no contest," said Fisher. "I would say that here in New England, the problem is that we have so many different weather hazards and they're just stacked on top of each other."
This season, the Twin Cities have measured 48 inches of snow, including one storm that dumped 12 inches. The average annual snowfall in the Twin Cities is 55 inches. Boston has recorded 57 inches and Worcester, a city outside of Boston recorded 87 inches. In Boston, the annual average is 45 inches. In the Boston suburbs, the average is 55 to 60 inches. In New York City, the average snowfall is 30 inches and this year, it's been 23 inches. In Philadelphia, it's 19 inches and this year, it's been 22 inches.
February along the East Coast was nice and consisted of temperatures in the 40s, 50s and 60s. But, once March hit, it was a different story. Fisher explained each Nor'easter.
"The first one was all rain, but it brought the most significant coastal flooding," he said. "We lost a number of homes, the beaches have been destroyed."
The second storm brought high winds and widespread power outages that lasted for days up and down the East Coast. With the third storm came two feet of snow. The fourth storm is expected to bring between five and 10 inches.
