Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Only about 3.6 inches of snow have fallen this winter in the Kosciusko County area, according to Michael Sabones, meterologist-in-charge, at the National Weather Service Northern Indiana office, North Webster.
The majority of that snow, 1.8 inches, fell in December, with only a tenth of an inch before that.
And in January - so far - there has been only 1.7 inches of snow.
In South Bend in December, snowfall totaled 19.5 inches. South Bend's total snowfall so far is 22.4. Their normal snowfall through December is 36.9 inches.
"They've had a stronger lake effect," Sabones said, compared to other areas in the state.
Fort Wayne has had only 3.1 inches through December. Their average through December is approximately 12 inches.
Why so little snowfall this year?
"It's often hard to pin down a good explanation," said Sabones. He said one reason for the less-than-average amount of snowfall so far this year could because of what is called the Arctic Oscillation, a wind pattern.
He said the Arctic Oscillation, which is north of the area, is stronger than usual this year. The strong circulation is keeping the cold winds bottled up in Canada. Without the cold winds, precipitation can't become snow. Precipitation has been normal for the year, Sabones said, it just hasn't been cold enough for it to come down as snow.
"We're just in the middle of winter. January is typically the coldest month of the year," he said.
Snow, he said, is in the forecast. He said it's possible to have snow Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. For Monday and Tuesday, he said, they need to keep an eye on it "to see how it shapes up."
Officially, winter ends around March 21. Typically, people think of winter as December, January and February because they are the coldest months and most likely to have snowfall. However, in the past, there has been snow in March and April.
Once it gets past February, "it's harder to get more snow, but it does happen."
