New England Weather Patterns

“If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a few minutes.” – Mark Twain

I first heard this quote not in one of my college English classes, but on a chairlift post-college from a fellow ski bum. And, finally, I decided to research it in a way I could not have done during my undergrad years, Google. Twain nailed that one. I followed my own advice, and skied two days mid-week. But going into these two days, I was borderline noncommittal about taking the days off, mostly because rain was in the forecast. Of course, the weather report continued to change. Back and forth. Rain, no rain. Sun, no sun. Clouds with snow. Snow with snow. You get the idea. All of it was fine with me except the rain part. I have skied many, many days in the rain. And yes, the snow surface is actually nice in the rain. But, I just did not feel like getting soggy. So, I waited till the little thumbnail image on weather.com did not feature raindrops to commit to a couple days off. Despite understanding the whole “If you don’t like the weather in New England” thing, I was still expecting spring-like conditions. This past Sunday I enjoyed some on-the-brink mashed potatoes spring skiing. I just assumed I would get the same this week. Instead, mid-winter snow conditions, fresh snow, and hand warmers were on the schedule. (The hand warmers were not completely necessary, but I was on vacation so I thought I would live it up.) The good news (for skiers) is the snow on the mountain is in great shape so there is no reason to summer your skis just yet. In fact, I will postpone my car appointment for a few weeks too. I do live in New England, so even though it’s spring, I’ll keep my snow tires on a little while longer. You never know.