Winter 2022: The snowy finish, wasn’t enough to overcome a shirking cold season

 

SOUTH BEND, IND – On paper, Winter 2022 was not that extreme, it averages out to be just above average with temperatures and just below normal on snowfall, but how it got to this point tells a bigger story. The cold season continues to shrink.

Winter did not start in December, at least with the weather we typically associate with winter. December was the 5th warmest on record and one of the least snowiest. This is not a isolated event, some of the warmest Decembers have happened in recent years, it’s a trend.

How did Tom’s All-in Winter Forecast: Winter 2022 hold up? Not terrible.

• Winter was slow to start in December
• January was colder and snowier than last year
• Make-or-break February, turned in Tom’s favor
• All this was not enough to overcome a nearly snowless December 

The La Nina pattern, and associated harsher winter weather did show-up, but it was shaved on the margins by a warming climate. This was a cold and snowy setup and snowfall and temperatures still underperformed.

This comes as no surprise. When looking at the change in average temperature from 30 years ago, winter is seeing the greatest change in South Bend and the Great Lakes.

We will still have cold and snow, but if you’re betting on winter, continue to take the UNDER.