Big Stories from the Winter of 2017/18 (Invited Presentation)

This review will highlight some of the "big stories" of the winter of 2017-18, including a season to remember in Montana, a rare southern snowstorm, a series of March nor’easters, and a record late and intense snowstorm in the upper Midwest. These events will be used to illustrate the impacts of winter conditions on society, and the weather enterprise’s growing success in building public readiness for such events.

Overall the winter was typical of a La Nina pattern, with large areas of the West, Plains, and Southeast exhibiting drier than average conditions, while the Northern Rockies, Midwest, and Lower-Mississippi Valley exhibited wetter than average conditions. Temperatures were near average in most areas of the country, with exception of cold anomalies in the Northern Rockies and warm anomalies in the desert southwest.

Three particular events stand out. First, Montana experienced a winter to remember, with record snowfall, cold, and wind. This combination of conditions led to several blizzards, including ground blizzards. In the northeast, the season started mild, but the calm was pierced by a rare intense cyclogenesis event in January and a rare series of 4 notable nor’easters in March. Finally, there were rare events ‘on the edges’ with an extensive southern snow storm occurring from Texas to Georgia in December, and a late season record and intense snowstorm in the upper Midwest. Each of these events will be used to highlight successes and challenges in building public readiness for winter weather.