Winter is officially over in Malden — at least in terms of parking restrictions.
Malden Mayor Gary Christenson announced this week that a relative lack of snow and warmer temperatures led him to lift the city’s winter parking regulations.
It has, indeed, been a mild winter so far, GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein told GBH’s Morning Edition co-hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel Friday. January’s average temperature in Boston was 8 degrees warmer than the previous average. Boston has gotten 7.9 inches of snow, and while Massachusetts residents should not be putting their shovels away for the season, the area may be very close to the record low for snowfall for an entire winter — about nine inches of snow.
“In general, it's been an incredibly mild winter,” Epstein said. “We're in a top 10 mild meteorological winter right now.”
Warmer and milder winters will be more common as the climate continues changing, Epstein said. New England is feeling the effects of a shifting jet stream.
“The jet stream meanders across the planet and depending on its position, to the north, it's cold; and to the south, it's warm, especially this time of the year,” Epstein said. “We have a very strong, big jet stream coming across the country, and it's locking that cold air up in Canada. It just doesn't have a chance to get down into the continental U.S. when it has most of the time. This entire winter it's been out west.”
Places like Denver and the Sierra Nevadas in California have seen some seasonal cold this year — as did New England during a cold snap last week. But the trend has been undoubtably warmer weather in Boston this winter.
What does that mean for the weekend? It’s going to be a warm Friday, Epstein said, with temperatures approaching a record high of 60 degrees, set in 1990. A breeze will cool things down after 2 or 3 p.m., Epstein said.
“It's not going to get cold,” Epstein said. “But it'll feel a little bit chillier by the time we get to sunset, which now, of course, is getting later and later. We're getting two and a half minutes of [added] light every single day.”
Saturday and Sunday will have highs in the 40s, with sunshine on Saturday and some clouds on the South Coast on Sunday. Some rain is possible Sunday night and into Monday, Epstein said.
“And then the question is, how long does this last?” Epstein said. “If I go through until almost the end of the month, I do see it being mainly milder than average. And then we get into March.”
Snow and cold are certainly still possible in March and early April, he said, though snow tends to melt quickly in those months.
“We started Solar Spring five days ago,” Epstein said, referring to the time of year when New England gains daylight more rapidly. “In a year like this, yes, it can still snow. Yes, it can still be cold. But this is not going to be a bad winter.”
As Prince said: Sometimes it snows in April.
