2017-2018 Winter Season in St. Louis

While the official snowfall total for the season wasn't a big number, we did see quite a few days of at least a little snowfall, sleet, and ice.  Recently, we also saw some days with forecasts for snow that didn't end up happening. Our wonderful DOT treated the roads with liquid de-icers as a precaution.  (I'm sure you've all see those funny white lines on the roads.) We DO really appreciate the state keeping our roads safe!  However, the brine mixture collects on our tires and gets launched onto the underside of our vehicles.  And, as you've read in a previous blog of ours, that causes problems!

I wanted to see just how many days it was possible that the major roadways were covered with de-icer and how that compared to normal. Using data from the cli-MATE:MRCC Application Tools Environment, we looked the total number of days with at least some Precipitation where the Maximum Temperature did NOT get above freezing as well as days with Precipitation when the Minimum Temperature fell to or below freezing, and both were ABOVE average for this past Winter vs. the average over the last 30 years! We also looked at the number of days with measurable snowfall, and it was only a couple days below normal. 

So, even though our snow totals for the season were not record-makers, we had quite a few days with at least some snow, or the potential for slippery conditions, which means our roads and parking lots were probably covered with deicer a lot more than we realized!

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