Rain in Gothic? In December? What the…? Something to think about…

billy barr says first time he’s seen it

By Mark Reaman 

It may or may not be considered by some to be newsworthy, but we thought it sure was interesting, so we reached out to long-time weather watcher billy barr about a rumor circulating on the streets. Did it really rain in Gothic for the first time ever in December?

“It is true — there was 0.02 inches of rain early that morning, December 25,” he confirmed. “I spent 10 minutes standing out in the rain making certain that it was not snow or sleet, but it was indeed rain before turning. That was the first December rain in my 54 years here.” 

Global warming? Global weirding? billy barr thinks it isn’t normal.

 “Also, in December there was a 14-day period during which we had 10 record high temperatures, so now 12 record highs so far this year (winter season),” he said.

barr explained that each winter should average four records — be they highs, lows, most snow on the ground, etc. He came up with the calculation from his observations where there have been 210 such days in winter which he considers running from November 1 through May 31. The 210 divided by 52 years of recording weather statistics is almost exactly four per year. 

“So there has already been three times what you would, long-term, expect with still five months to go in a typical winter,” he said.

As for how this year is stacking up historically in Gothic, he said we have had 130 cm (54 inches) of snow so far this winter — far above the 1976-77 winter which had only 99 cm (39 inches) of snow through December. That is the winter referred to in the valley as the “Winter of Un.”

“But January through March are easily the three heaviest snow months so a lot can change,” barr noted. “It is difficult to tell what this means. As dry and warm as it has been, that could turn around just as easily.”

To be clear, barr said September and October were above average in terms of precipitation, yet far below average in snowfall as it was mostly rain. “The average snowfall through October is 37 inches and this year we had three inches total,” he said.

While billy barr is clear that what happens during a lone winter, or even a few months, could be the effect of the weather patterns at that time, which could change without meaning much, the long-term trend is that it is getting warmer in Gothic. “I have records over 52 years and that data shows undeniably that things are changing and in some ways this winter shows what is going on — rain instead of snow in October, record highs throughout December, and then rain,” he said. “There are many other indicators as well like winter snowfall, the shorter amount of time there is a permanent snow cover on the ground, snow density, winter data record and more. I simply record what I see, but in my mind, it seems likely that connection can be made.”

So, newsworthy? If it’s an indicator of the planet changing in weird ways that impact all of us —you bet.