New Hampshire Snowfall Totals: How Did The Forecasters Do?

CONCORD, NH — Weather in New Hampshire is what it is and it is one of the reasons people love living here. For the most part, the state is graced with four seasons and everything that comes with those seasons, including temperature variations, different levels of rainfall, and snow, too, often, a lot of it. Each and every year, the public, press, and weather forecasters duel with each other about how to warn about potential storm forecasts.

Everyone jokes about the long lines at the grocery store before a storm to get luncheon meat and milk – perishables that could potentially be lost if the power goes out.

Storm alerts, though, are what they are: A moment in time of what the experts predict the weather might be; possibilities with an endless amount of opportunity to change on a whim, based on where the pressure systems decide to move.

This, of course, freaks some people out, and can make the public ticky, for lack of a better term, when forecasts are incorrect or overblown. Some, and this storm was no exception, even accuse media outlets of reporting "fake news" when warning of an impending snowstorm. At the same time, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

The Blizzard Of '78

Much of this psyche issue about winter weather can be traced back to the Blizzard of '78.

For those of you who were not alive then, that blizzard, in early February 1978, was a massive storm that dumped close to 30 inches of snow up and down the Northeast during a period of two days. The storm took everyone by surprise – no one saw or knew it was coming. It broke all kinds of snowfall records, too. And, yes, and people died. There were no cellphones back then to assist finding loved ones stuck on Interstates in the middle of nowhere because the plows couldn't clear the snow fast enough (think of the promo poster for the first few seasons of "The Walking Dead" – piles of cars, abandoned and snowed in, in the middle of the road. While there were citizen band radios, only truckers really used them – and even they were getting stuck on the highways.

The storm was as strong as a mid-level hurricane only with snow: There were massive power outages, school snow days, etc.

Since that time, weather, and warnings by forecasters have been a staple of our everyday lives and so is the criticism about snow predictions, since forecasters are sometimes wrong. While it is still snowing in parts of New Hampshire, for the most part, Winter Storm Ezekiel is just about done. So how did the forecasters do?

NWS Spotter Numbers

Well, in turns out, the forecasts were actually not exaggerating at all. In fact, in some places, their estimates were quite conservative.

According to the noon-time Tuesday snow total post from the National Weather Service, Concord received about 5.7 inches of snow but that's a few inches less than what fell in my backyard (close to 9). A spotter in Bow reported nearly 10 inches and one in Dunbarton reported nearly 13 inches. Northern parts of Merrimack County received less while southern parts, like Hooksett, reported 19 inches. Forecasters predicted 5 to 13 inches for the capital region meaning that they were about right with their prediction range.

In Hillsborough County, it appears as if forecasters were light on their snow counts: Totals were expected to be anywhere from 5 to 18 inches of snow. According to spotters, anywhere from 14.8 to 29 inches hit the county (at 29 inches, in Greenville, it was getting toward Blizzard of '78 numbers). Nashua spotters reported about 15 inches of snow; Bedford had 17 inches; Amherst had 23 inches; and Milford had 21, according to reports.

Forecasters were also not exaggerating with their prediction numbers for Rockingham County. The low to high numbers were between 4 inches and 16 inches. The spotter numbers were 6.7 in Northwood to 22.8 inches in Londonderry. A spotter in Epping reported 21 inches while one in Greenland counted 11.6 inches of snow.

The latest weather conditions can be found on the front page of every Patch.com site in the United States including the 12 New Hampshire Patch news and community websites. Local, four-day weather reports for New Hampshire are posted on Sundays and Wednesday or Thursdays. Alerts are posted when needed.

Got a news tip? Send it to Tony Schinella at tony.schinella@patch.com.

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