Do You Still Like Winter? You Should Have Been In Newfoundland This Week

A lovely view of Gander, Newfoundland on Thursday.

Summery weather has engulfed most of the United States. Even in New England, it's going to be in the 80s today, and relatively mild all through the holiday weekend.

There are still probably a (very) few of you out there who miss winter, I know.

The Killington Ski Resort is finally closing down for the season Saturday so hitting the slopes is soon out of the question.

But winter manages to hang on in a few spots, and if you were up in northern New Brunswick and especially Newfoundland, you had a nice blast of winter this week.

Ground zero was Gander, Newfoundland. Now, that city is not known for its tropical beaches and balmy sunshine. Still, what they got this week was quite a blow.  Check out the video at the bottom of this post.

Springtime on an outdoor deck this past week in Gander, Newfoundland.

Thirteen inches of snow fell on Gander on Thursday, which is a lot, even for them. This was the city's second largest snowstorm on record for May, and the biggest for so late in the season. It was also the biggest snowstorm in Gander this, um, winter.

Normally this time of year, high tempertures in Gander in the mid to upper 50s with lows in the upper 30s. Not balmy, but not frigid either.

Instead of buying outdoor grills and deck chairs, people in Gander scrambled for snow tires and snow shovels, which of course aren't in stock this time of year.

Schools shut down because of the snow, and businesses opened late because of snow-clogged streets.

Northern New Brunswick, really not that far from Maine, got snow, too. In New Brunswick, trees were already starting to leaf out when the snow hit. Bathhurst, New Brunswick picked up 2.5 inches of new snow.

The forecast for Gander and the rest of Newfoundland and environs still isn't great. Environment Canada says high temperatures in Gander today are forecast to be only around 40 and in the upper 30s on Saturday. More light snow might come down tonight. Ouch!

It's been a nasty weather pattern in far eastern Canada lately anyway. Record low temperatures occurred in parts of northern Quebec and western Labrador last week.

Meanwhile, in Vermont, there's still skiing at Killington Resort, although
they'll close down for the season on Saturday. 

This weather pattern has contributed to some really nice May weather in Vermont and the rest of northern New England.

The dip in the jet stream that has caused the ugly spring weather up in northeastern Canada has suppressed persistent clouds and rain to the south over the Mid-Atlantic states.  

Vermont is also too far south to get the brunt of the cold air from Canada, so temperatures have been either close to normal, or warmer than normal under the frequent May sunshine.

The temperature in May so far is averaging about five degrees warmer than normal in Burlington so far this month. Caribou, Maine, closer to the cold Canadian air, is only running less than a degree above normal this month.

Back up in Gander, there is still a bit of hope for spring. Temperatures should rise to near normal up there toward the middle of next week.

Here's a video of Gander on May 24. Looks like a nasty January day in Vermont, but nope, May 24:

Want Snow? Take A Gander At Gander (Newfoundland)

A road in Gander, Newfoundland this week after
record snows there. Photo by Nancy Warren

Here where I sit in Vermont, the snow is finally melting at a good clip. Just a few days ago, my property was completely snow covered.

Today, it's mostly snow free

Many of us are saying good riddance to winter and spring snow, but there are a few holdouts who love snow, no matter what.

If you're here in Vermont, we got a minor treat last night  with a quick dusting to two inches of fresh powder in the valleys and maybe a bit more than that in the mountains.

There were reports of three to six inches of snow in parts of northern Vermont this morning, with even more than than in some of the mountaiuns.

But that will very quickly melt Saturday and Sunday as the tempertures warm up again.

For those of you who want a very snowy experience, go all the way up to Newfoundland, Canada. And take a gander at the city of Gander.

This week, there was 87 inches of snow on the ground there, the most recorded in that region's history. They've had storm after storm after storm in recent weeks.

Fun fact: If you think you've heard of Gander in another subtext lately, you have. There's a hit Broadway musical called "Come From Away' about the hospitality the people of Gander gave when transcontinental planes had to land there on Sept 11, 2001, stranding nearly 7,000 people there.

As wonderful as the people of Gander clearly are, I wouldn't want to be there right now. We'll wait until the snow melts. If it does.

A house in Gander, Newfoundland buried in snow this week.

Some of the snowstorms we've had over the past few months have gone on to hit Newfoundland. So did some offshore ones that missed us. Plus, some of our recent rainstorms ended up in Newfoundland as snow.

Newfoundland has never exactly been tropical, but I bet they're really pining for spring up there.

It will come. Newfoundland is pretty far north, but it does get spring and summer. Normal high temperatures this time of year in Gander are well up in the 30s, and often reach the low 70s at least during the summer.

Let's hope they don't get much more snow. For the next few days, things are looking up in Gander. Environment Canada predicts no new snow, and daytime temperatures in the 40s for the next few days.