Remember When It Used To Snow?

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten and children listen

to hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten and children listen

to hear sleigh bells in the snow"

It's December 14th, Christmas is 11 days away and I am looking out my window at......rain. Most of the northern half of Minnesota, however, is expecting anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow today because there is a sharp temperature contrast between here and there. Here in St. Paul, we're getting a cold, wet rain that is washing away the few inches of snow we've received up to this point, revealing dead grass and dirt spots on the lawn where the blow-up swimming pool used to be. Now, the weather terrorists like Paul Douglas (thank you, Dan Barreiro) have been screaming and prognosticating about this storm for the past week, first predicting 3-5 inches of snow for the Cities, then changing it to 1-3, and ending up with "a wintry mix." I have known in my heart all week that there would be no snow. Only cold, wet rain. Just so you know, I happen to like lots of snow before Christmas and look forward to oncoming storms. After Christmas, however, it can all go away as far as I am concerned.

Remember when it used to snow? Do you remember when we were guaranteed of not only a white Christmas, but a white Thanksgiving? Growing up, it seemed like we had several feet of snow before Christmas - more than enough for sledding, snowmen and an overall "Christmas feeling." I have brought this topic up to people at THE CHECK, and many of them have told me that "I was just shorter back then." Less snow seemed like more snow because I was shorter. I don't think so. I am convinced that, back in THE DAY, we had more snow.

So I consulted the magic of The Google. I looked up Twin Cities snow totals over the years, and here is what I found:
I realize that graph is hard to see, especially if you have eye sight like mine. The middle of the graph is the "median" Twin Cities snowfall over the years, which is right around 44 inches. Any bar above that line represents a year OVER that median, and bar below that line represents a year BELOW that median. Overall, I guess the graph indicates that there is still a good mix of "more and less" of the median snowfall amount.

However, I did find an interesting tidbit in this graph. Check out the years between 1970 and 1985 (if you can see them)! That span of 15 years, on average, had well-above the median 44 inches of snow.

I knew it! That period is when I, Old Man Thompson, grew up! There truly was more snow in those formative years of my youth - it didn't just seem that way because I was shorter.

So there. It doesn't really help me feel any better today, as I look out the window at the continuing rain. Maybe as the day wears on, the rain will change to snow and "Christmas the place up a bit."

Yep, and the Wild might score 10 goals in their next game.

Peace,

Jeff

Editors Note: Yep, at 4:30 P.M. its, you guessed it, snowing.