Vermont’s winter has so far brought less snow than usual, according to the National Weather Service.
Burlington received 17.4 inches of snow between Oct. 1 and Jan. 4 — almost 11 inches below normal for the city in this time period.
The southern part of the state has experienced a similar trend, meteorologists said, citing data collected by volunteers.
For instance, from October through December, Brattleboro recorded only 4.7 inches of snow. It typically gets 53 inches between October and April, the months the National Weather Service considers snow season.
Wilmington, located just south of Mount Snow, received 14.1 inches between October and December. The town has four months left to reach its usual 100 to 130 inches for the season.
Landgrove, just up the road from Bromley Mountain Ski Resort, has received 25 inches. It averages 80 to 90 inches each season.
“Overall, most of the state is measuring below normal,” said Tom Wasula, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Albany, New York, which monitors southern Vermont.
He attributes this to warmer temperatures and the lack of storm systems, which bring snow-dumping nor’easters.
Matthew Clay, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Burlington office, said some years bring a fairly dry pattern to the early part of snow season. This is not uncommon unless the pattern stays dry, he said.
But if the trend of the past several years holds, January and February might not bring much snow, either. In the past five to 10 years, Wasula said, most snowstorms came in December and March, and not so much in the middle of ski season.
There’s a lot more than skiing to worry about if the snowfall stays light. The snow that melts every spring is a key factor in the water levels of rivers and lakes — and the wells that many rural residents depend on for their drinking water.
“Without that snowmelt, things just tend to be a little drier,” Clay said, “which can lead to drought.”
Last winter, the weather service said, Vermont as a whole had below-average snowfall, and dry conditions from around June 2020 carried over into the following year, with some parts of the state experiencing drought through the fall.
Right now, meteorologists are not overly worried this season will remain dry as more snow was expected over the weekend.
“There’s still a lot of winter left,” Wasula said. “I’d be more concerned if this were in mid-February.”
