John Wheeler: When comparing weather to average, we should keep in mind what the average represents

FARGO — Weather and climate provide a continuum of changing expectations. Some years in late March, we're hoping for a little rain to quench the warm and dry soil. Other years, we are wondering if there really is any soil under all that snow.

Meteorologists and climatologists account for these fluctuations by comparing weather against a moving, three-decade long average. So our winter snow accumulation of 20 inches in Fargo and 23 inches in Grand Forks are much less than the 1991-2020 average of 51.6 inches.



The period of 1991-2020 happens to be the wettest and snowiest three-decade period on record for our region. The average used in the 1980s was based on the years 1951-1980, during a period of drier climate. Average snowfall then was listed as 36 inches, still more than the present winter, but a lot less than the present average.

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