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WOES of SNOW
At 103.7 inches and growing, this winter tops all others in snowfall.
YOUNGSTOWN
It took yet another major snowstorm to do it, but this year is now officially the snowiest winter season in the Mahoning Valley.
As of late Friday, 103.7 inches of snow fell on the area this winter season, according to the National Weather Service.
The 6.7 inches of snow that fell Friday put this year at No. 1.
And we’re likely going to get even more, said Mark Koontz, chief meteorologist for 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.
“We’re not into March yet,” he said. “We’ve got three weeks until spring. Some of the heaviest snowstorms we’ve had have been in March.”
The area could get 8 to 10 more inches of snow this winter season, Koontz said.
The Mahoning Valley is the leader among Ohio regions in terms of snowfall this winter season, Koontz said.
The area also has more snow than snowbelt areas such as Erie, Pa., with 88.8 inches and Buffalo with 94.4 inches as of late Friday.
Though snowfall records for this area date back to 1934, the top four snowiest weather seasons have occurred in the past five years.
The former snow king was 2007-08 with 102.8 inches of snow. No. 3 is 2006-07 with 90.2 inches of snow, and No. 4 is 2008-09 with 86.5 inches.
Friday was the third time this winter that more than 6 inches of snow fell on the Valley. The two others were Dec. 6 and 14 when 7.6 inches of snow fell on both days.
As of late Friday, 20.6 inches of snow fell this month. That’s good enough for the eighth-snowiest February in the Valley.
The 53.1 inches of snow that fell in December shattered the old record for the most snow in that month of 29.5 inches in 1987.
The 30 inches in January is the seventh-largest accumulation of snow for that month.
The NWS takes official weather measurements for the area at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.