Historical Snow Depth Comparisons for Grand Rapids

The following image shows the comparison of average snow depth for Grand Rapids since 1980 for phases of ENSO: El Nino (warm), Neutral, and La Nina (cold). We are in an El Nino this season.


A better statistical comparison could be made by looking at more years. We have good data going back to 1950, but the winters 1950 through 1979 generally had deeper snow than those more recently. The following graph compares the 1950 through 1979 period with the most recent 30 winters.



The differences between the two sets of years are most likely due to a combination of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (a multi-decade climate cycle) and anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming.