Tt post nov 17 2015 c

According to the long-range outlooks issued on October 15, December through March is forecast to contain slightly above normal temps and slightly below normal precip for our region.

Obviously, a system could sneak in and dump several inches of snow, and we could experience single digit temps for a few days, but that will be enough for people to think that the entire winter was like that.

I'm wild-guessing that we won't see 10-plus-day stretches of sub-freezing temps. It will probably be an up-and-down winter, temp-wise. We could experience a good number of days with temps in the 40s, and we'll see more bare ground this winter than snow cover. Any snowfalls won't linger. It may be a bad winter for local cross country skiing in our parks. And ice fishing may not occur on Lake Erie this winter. Maybe we won't see a single below-zero temp day. I think that we occasionally have winters where our temps never dip below zero.

From approximately mid-December to mid-February, TOL's average high temp ranges from the low to mid 30s, and our average low temp ranges from the upper teens to low 20s. Add a couple degrees to both, and that might be our winter.

Average TOL snowfall:

• December: 7.4 in
• January: 11.6 in
• February: 9.4 in
• March: 5.7 in

Subtract a little from each month for this winter.

Total precip may continue to run a little below normal too. This could lessen the chances for a flooding rainfall event that sometimes occurs during mild winters when some communities along the Maumee and Portage rivers have to stack sandbags.

If the entire winter is like December 2014, then that would be noticeable. But even if our winter is closer to normal, then it may still feel balmy, compared to the last two winters.

The winter and early spring of 2011-2012 was mild. I think that I wore my heavy wool winter coat only a couple times. On many days in January 2012, I never wore a coat, and gloves were rarely needed. A friend of mine went golfing in South Toledo in late January 2012. I think that the Maumee River stayed open or mostly open for the entire winter, including the slow-moving sections downstream of Rossford. TOL set amazing records for warmth in March 2012. By the end of March 2012, our foliage and insect activity was at least three weeks ahead of schedule. Of course, then we experienced one of the hottest summers in 2012.