The Fowler River, which flows into Newfound Lake in Bristol, New Hampshire, on March 18, 2024. Photo by Todd B. Bates/NH EnviroGuy blogger

Spring Begins in New England With “Significant Snowfall” Possible

9 min readMar 20, 2024

Spring began late last night, but winter is clawing its way back in New England.

Think chilly weather, gusty winds and snow, including potentially significant snowfall on Saturday, depending on your location.

Guide to Snowfall Forecast Maps for New England, With Other Snow Information and Photos

The snow is arriving 88 years after the worst flooding in New England in modern times, following heavy rain and melting snow, the National Weather Service Boston/Norton office says.

Source: National Weather Service Boston/Norton office

Meanwhile, the first 15 days of March set records for warmth at 17 of 35 major climate sites in the Northeast and ranked among the five warmest at 15 other sites, the Northeast Regional Climate Center says. Temperatures averaged 3 to more than 12 degrees above normal.

Source: Northeast Regional Climate Center

And as of March 17, 61.5 inches of snow had fallen at Caribou, Maine, this winter compared with 109.3 inches the previous winter by then. Only 70.3 inches of snow fell during the 2009–10 season, according to the National Weather Service office in Caribou.

Snowfall Maps Show Major Shortfalls in Northeast and Great Lakes States in Recent Winters

More weather and climate highlights, featuring winter and other extremes:

— It was the warmest start to March (1–15) on record in Caribou, with temperatures averaging 11.5 degrees above normal. Other record-breakers included Hartford (10.4 degrees above) and Bridgeport (9.4 degrees above) in Connecticut, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center. It was the wettest start on record in Portland, Maine, Providence, Rhode Island, and Concord, New Hampshire, with precipitation roughly three times the norm. Portland and Bridgeport also had record low snowfall (none).

Enjoy! Photos of Fall Colors in Norway, New England, California and Montana

— Globally, this winter (December through January) was the warmest in NASA’s record, and last month was the warmest February on record, according to NASA Earth. “These warm winter months … continue a long term warming trend caused by human activities.”

— “In 2023, the hottest year ever documented, records were broken for greenhouse gas levels, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, Antarctic sea cover, and glacier retreat,” the World Meteorological Organization posted today.

— This winter was the least snowy on record in the lower 48 states. “The combination of El Niño, record warm global ocean temperatures, and warming air temperatures was a recipe for a lack of snow,” Ben Noll, meteorologist at the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research in New Zealand, posted.

Winter in New England: Extreme Weather and Climate Update, With Snowfall Maps

—“In line with climate trends in the Northeast (and boosted by atmospheric teleconnections like a positive North Atlantic Oscillation), winter 2023–24 was unusually warm,” according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center. Winters are getting warmer and this winter followed the exceptionally warm winter of 2022–23.

— Six of 35 major climate sites in the Northeast, including Burlington, Vermont, and Caribou, had their warmest winter (December through February) on record, the center says. Hartford had a record wet winter.

— Boston got only 9.7 inches of snow, or 28 inches below normal, making it the city’s sixth least snowy winter on record.

Extreme Snowfall in New England Led by Mount Washington in N.H.

— Winds reached 150 mph at the summit of 6,288-foot Mount Washington in New Hampshire on March 11. That’s the highest gust recorded so far this winter season, according to the Mount Washington Observatory. Sustained winds hit the mid-120s mph (equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane).

— On Feb. 17, winds at about 34,000 feet to 35,000 feet above the surface peaked at around 265 mph in the area covered by the Baltimore/Washington weather service office. That’s the second strongest upper-level wind recorded in local history, dating back to the mid-20th century, the office posted. The strongest wind (267 mph) was recorded on Dec. 6, 2002.

Many more images, including some of my photos in New Hampshire and Marin County, California: