To hear some folks talking about our current winter, you might think it’s an abnormally brutal one, but far too many of us have rather short and uniquely selective memories when it comes to our winter seasons.
To hear some natives that live in the larger East Coast cities and nearby suburbs, you’d think this winter was the worst ever, with some claiming this has been the “Snow Storm and Coldest Winter in the Last 60 Years.” But those of us living in “upstate New York” (I smile whenever I hear that term), most would probably agree it’s not all that abnormal when compared to past winter seasons. Anyone remember 1966 or 2003? I sure do, and those two winters make this year’s seem rather mundane. I recall the snow was so deep and soft during those two, it even made getting around on snowshoes difficult.
I remember the winter of 2003 very well for two reasons. First was the snow in our driveway was so deep it caved in over top of our snowblower, the intake on which was 20 inches high. Also, I recall donning snowshoes and trying to hunt varying hare, and discovering the snow was so deep and soft that I got mired in it a short distance into the woods and had to remove my snowshoes to get out and then retrace my tracks back to the Jeep to avoid getting mired again.
For many of us who like to be outdoors as often as possible, our view of “normal” seasonal weather has as much to do with memory and perception as it does reality. Those not accustomed to being outdoors in the cold and deep snow view it far differently than those who’ve seen their share of it over the years. Conversely, those not use to oppressive heat and high humidity view it as something unnatural whenever it occurs in their region.
Our favorite outdoor activities are heavily influenced by our normal regional seasonal weather. We tend to enjoy skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing while someone relocating here from the sunbelt would most likely forgo these and wait for the summer when they could swim, sunbathe, boat or fish open water, activities they’re accustomed to doing in sunbelt climates. On the other side of the coin, the heat and/or high humidity of a sunbelt summer would have us northerners wishing for it to end earlier than usual so we could get outside in the relative comfort we are accustomed to.
On average, our area gets about 80 total inches of snow each winter. How it comes often makes a huge difference in how we recall it in later years. If it comes in the form of just a few heavy snowfalls, we often recall it as a “major’ winter, but if it comes in smaller but more frequent amounts, it doesn’t seem as bad when recalling it a year or so later. In comparison, consider that the Boonville area has seen nearly 230 inches in a single winter, and a few areas on Tug Hill have seen nearly twice that during a few winters.
