It’s the question on everyone’s mind: When will winter stop?
The meteorological answer seems to be the equivalent of a shrug and a wry smile, with the not-so-reassuring reminder that the days are getting longer and spring is coming — eventually.
Long-term climate prediction can’t reveal the things people really care about: how many more snow days and how much more shoveling? But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center does make predictions of whether temperature and precipitation are likely to be above or below normal.
Looking in that crystal ball, New England will probably see temperatures substantially below normal in March, though there’s a potential warm-up in the middle for those who prefer to see the glass as half full. The amount of precipitation is a coin toss, meaning the models don’t have enough information.
Collins’s official outlook for the spring is a tossup — there’s not yet a clear picture of how the season will shape up.
Take all this uncertainty with an added grain of salt: These long-range predictions aren’t always right, as we have seen.The monthly forecast for February, for example, did not predict below normal temperatures in the Northeast and so far, Boston is having the second-coldest February on record.