Five days ago, local meteorologists declared that “winter is over.” There has been considerable debate the past few years about what constitutes “wintry” conditions in our mild temperate climate. Here’s why I feel that winter is truly over:

1. We’re not going to have a significant snowstorm in the lowest elevations of the Pacific Northwest. Truth be told…we probably could have called this back on the 22nd/23rd of February, when it became apparent that the upcoming chilly trough was not a heavy snow maker for the lowlands.

2. We’re not going to have another severe arctic freeze like we got in January. This never happens after the 1st week of March, and even that is a long shot. Again…we probably knew this back in the last week of February.

3. We are PROBABLY done with any kind of conversational snow/wintry mischief like we had the first few days of March. Yes, it can occasionally happen in late March or even April. But it’s rare and not something we should base our seasonal demarcation upon.

4. The final point: We’re most likely done with any PROLONGED stretch of daytime high temps below 50°F at PDX. When we get a bunch of days in the 40s with low snow levels at the beginning of March, it feels like an extension of winter. When we get a couple chilly days in late March, it just feels like a blip in our normal springtime regime.

Only about 6-7 times in PDX history have we seen 3 or more consecutive days below 50 on or after March 15. And only once – Mar 19-23, 2012 – have we had a 5-day stretch after this date.

5. It’s going to be near 70° next weekend! Only an obsessive fool would say “winter still isn’t over because we might still see a dusting of snow afterward!”

I’m going to Palm Springs this Tuesday-Friday to soak up some 80-degree sunshine, and return to bask in 70-degree sunshine here.

Happy springtime! 🌞🌡🌷🐦🌱