Snowfall was far below normal in much of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont from October 2021 through May 2022, *ranging from more than 36 inches below normal to 24 inches above the norm.* Source: Northeast Regional Climate Center

New England Spring Climate Highlights and 2021–22 Seasonal Snowfall Totals

4 min readJun 9, 2022

Typically warmer and drier than usual. Generally below-normal snowfall.

That sums up May, meteorological spring (March through May) and 2021–2022 snowfall totals in New England and the Northeast, according to climate roundups.

Meteorological summer (June, July and August) may also be warmer than normal, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

This year’s Northeast warmth follows the region’s third warmest year (2021) since recordkeeping began in 1895, according to a 2021 National Climate Report.

New England average temperatures have risen by about 3 degrees or more since 1901, according to the 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment. Climate change threatens the health and well-being of people in the Northeast via more extreme weather, warmer temperatures, degradation of air and water quality and sea-level rise, the report says.

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms in New England, With the Chances of Them Coming Within 50 Miles

Here are some of the latest climate highlights, courtesy of the National Centers for Environmental Information and the Northeast Regional Climate Center:

— May was warmer-than-normal in nearly the entire Northeast. Average temperatures ranged from near normal in parts of Maryland and West Virginia to 6 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in parts of New York and New England. Burlington, Vermont, had its fourth warmest May on record.

— Precipitation was below average across parts of the Northeast in May. Portland, Maine, had its 10th driest May on record while Providence, Rhode Island, had its 12th driest.

— Rhode Island experienced its fourth warmest meteorological spring on record. Burlington, Vermont, had its fifth driest.

— Bridgeport, Connecticut, had its 13th driest meteorological spring on record while Boston, Massachusetts, had its 14th driest.

— Spring snowfall (March through May) ranged from more than 12 inches below normal in parts of Maine and New Hampshire to more than 12 inches above normal in south-central New York. Portland, Maine, received only 3 inches of snow. That’s 13.4 inches below the norm, making it the 11th least snowy spring on record.

— Snowfall from October through May ranged from more than 3 feet below normal in areas such as coastal Maine and northern/central New York to 2 feet above normal in areas such as southeastern New Jersey. Seasonal snowfall at the 35 major climate sites in the Northeast ranged from 51.8 inches below normal in Syracuse, New York, to 15.9 inches above normal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Twenty-seven sites saw below-normal snowfall.

Tracking and Preparing for Hurricanes and Extreme Weather in New England

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