"Most Miserable" Winter Start

Above, snow on the ground in late February. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For the past month or so, it has been cold here in Jamestown, New Mexico for weeks. Temperatures have been dropping below freezing (32°) most every night.

But, according to The Weather Channel, New Mexico has been having "average" weather for the season in their Weather Misery Index map.

They wrote:

It's already one of the coldest and snowiest starts to the winter season in parts of the Northeast, Midwest and Plains, and we haven't finished November yet. 

According to the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (AWSSI) from the Midwest Regional Climate Center, 74 cities from New England to the Plains and Rockies have seen an extreme season-to-date of cold and snow as of Nov. 27.  

This index takes into account the "intensity and persistence of cold weather, the frequency and amount of snow and the amount and persistence of snow on the ground," the Midwest Regional Climate Center says. Wind and mixed precipitation, such as freezing rain, are not a part of the index. 

The index uses five categories – mild, moderate, average, severe and extreme – to rate the severity of winter weather in cities across the U.S. 

For any given location, the start date of the winter season is defined as when the first measurable snowfall (at least 0.1 inches) occurs or when the first high temperature of 32 degrees or lower is recorded. The start date is Dec. 1 for any location that does not see either of those happen before that date.

To read more, go here.