 It's
the best six or seven months of the year, that is, unless you have
to do the shoveling. Winter in the Lakes Region can be be
described as extremely variable, and for those who try to forecast
the weather, it's their worst nightmare. To give you an idea
of just how variable winters can be, lets have a look at January
to April of 2001 and January to April of 2002. The start of the
2000/2001 winter season began without much fanfare, there was some
unusually early snowfall in October, but things quieted down and
it stayed that way. It was not very cold, temperatures well
below zero didn't happen more than a few times, but it was
consistently below freezing for nearly the whole month of
January. There was no January thaw or a February thaw, there
was no thaw at all. Snowfall was below average right up
until February, when the winds of change began to blow at
hurricane force.
In early February, a shift in the
weather pattern allowed for a series of major storms to churn up
the coast about every week and a half. The first came on
February 5, 2001, and it was a  meteorological
shock to the weather world. The forecast called for six to
ten inches, and parts of the Lakes Region ended up with
thirty-eight inches of light fluffy snow. The most shocking
element of that storm, other than surprise, was the intensity with
which the snow fell. The storm began around 4:00pm and ended
just ten hours later, it was a ten hour white out. That storm was
not the last major storm of the season, it was just one of
three. Before winter began to wind down, parts of the area
had record breaking snow depths, up to six feet in
places.
All that snow had some
interesting and rather unexpected side effects. The snow
insulated the ice on Lake Winnipesaukee so effectively that it
pushed  ice-out
all the way into May, which has only happened twelve other times
in the past 114 years. Many of those other May ice-outs occurred
in the 1800's and early 1900's. "Skier burnout"
was another unexpected effect of having so much snow. All
that snow made for great conditions everywhere, and the result was
the best ski season the area has ever had. Come May, the
weather was very warm and there was still snow on the slopes, but
nobody took advantage of it. Everyone was just plain snowed
out.
Now we fast forward to the winter
of 2001/2002, a year that really makes it astonishing the
difference a year can make. There really wasn't a winter. It
was more like a long drawn out late April. During the month of
January, there were twenty-one days in which the temperature rose
above freezing. And were not talking just a few degrees above
freezing, there have been many days in the forties and fifties. In
comparison, January of 2001 saw virtually no days with
temperatures above freezing. With all the warm weather,
snow, as you would expect, has been in scarce supply. For
the first time ever, Lake Winnipesaukee never froze solid over
it's entire water surface.
What should an old fashioned
Lakes Region winter be like? Well, from December through mid
March, you can expect daytime highs to range on average between
fifteen and thirty-five degrees. Nighttime lows can be very
low, but average between zero and twenty degrees. Periods of
below zero weather do occur each winter, but are seldom long
lived. Major snowstorms will occur about every seven to fourteen
days, with smaller events in between. A mid winter thaw is
common, but does not occur every year, such as in 2001.
Between sixty and eighty-five inches of snow will fall in a
typical season, but well over one-hundred inches has happened
before and will happen again. So now you have an idea of how
bad or how mild winter in the Lakes Region can be, but what is
there to do in the winter? Plenty, provided you don't mind a
little cold. More on averages.
Skiing is perhaps the biggest of
the winter Lakes Region recreational draws. Gunstock offers
downhill skiing and snowboarding trails for the thrill seekers as
well as miles of cross country trails for those who would rather
not risk every bone in their body. If you've got kids,
chances are that they will insist on taking a few runs down
Gunstocks tubing park. More on skiing.
One of the best ways to get
around to spots you otherwise wouldn't be able to find is by way
of snowmobile. There are several trails around, but most
seem to prefer taking their sleds out onto the frozen lake.
It's often a smooth ride and you've got 72 square miles to
explore. More on snowmobiling.
On usually the first weekend in
February, the Lakes Region hosts is biggest annual winter event:
The Great Rotary Fishing Derby. Derby headquarters and much
of the action is located in Meredith, but effects from the event
ripple through the entire Lakes Region. Thousands of people
swarm in from all over the country to fish for their chance to win
a share of the $50,000 in prizes. More the Meredith
Fishing Derby.
Also held in February are the
World Championship sled dog races. Next years running of the
races will mark the 74th time that sled dog teams have descended
on the Lakes Region to tackle a scenic yet challenging
course. At eighteen miles in length, the course will take
them over Lake Opechee and alongside Parade Road before taking
them through the woods and back. Its a fun event to watch
and children love it!
The above are a few of the major
happenings and things to do in the Lakes Region, for the full
experience, you'll just have to visit! |
