Is winter over?

I've only been in the NW for a few (great) snow years. Haven't seen such a dry year yet. If the offshore ridge that is keeping us dry sticks around through January, are we just going to go from late fall to late spring? Is there any hope that winter comes to anywhere below 5-7K'?

There have been a couple years in recent memory in which the snowpack didnt develop much before February. Even last year we had a robust December but January was dry and Feb and March were good.

My less-than-scientific observation from falls of 2012 and 2011 is that we had big storm cycles in mid to late November that allowed the ski areas to get open. Then things dried up in December and much of January. January of 2013 features a stretch of high pressure and inversion unlike any I ever remember. In both of those years I noted that the ski areas had been 'saved' by those November storms.

This year we didn't get the November storm.

Either the winter of 06-07 or 05-06 Snoq. Pass never really opened. I walked to Muir without flotation in mid-January and there was dry trail at Pebble Creek. So low-snow winters do happen.

I've only been here since 1993, but it seems to me that the winter season has shifted back 4-6 weeks; we've been getting more snow in March and early April than in December. Again, a non-scientific observation.

here are my general notes from snowpack below normal:
2000-2001 60%
2002-2003 60%
2004-2005 50%
2009-2010 80%

its been a while imo since we have had a very low year. the time is due.

the process is normal.

04-05 was the last real bad season, much worse than this year. I agree with others that PNW usually gets it early a little, then it really sets in mid February and can last into late April, May. 07-08, the record year, I remember the majority of that snowpack really hit in March!

Good to know that there is still hope! I wonder would this sporadic, perhaps "continential", pattern of infrequent storms couple with a maritime type of heavy snow create really dangerous avy conditions? At least until everything settles out in the late spring.