A LOOK BACK: Meteorological Winter 2024-2025

Meteorological Spring is almost here, the first day begins this Saturday, March 1! The meteorological seasonal calendar is based on the annual temperature cycle, so meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months. Statistically speaking, meteorological winter, December - January - February, is the coldest time of the year. We wanted to look back at our most significant weather events of this winter season.

Drought Monitor

When we compare the drought monitor from the beginning of meteorological winter to the end, certain areas stand out. The southwestern U.S. saw worsening drought whereas the Mid-south U.S. saw improvements to the drought monitor. This is what was to be expected, especially as we remain in a La Niña pattern.

Southern California Wildfires

A series of catastrophic wildfires developed in Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025 and continued through January 31, 2025. 14 destructive wildfires affected southern California after worsening drought conditions, low humidity, dry vegetation, and strong Santa Ana winds.

The largest fires in southern California included the Eaton Fire, which burned a total of 14,021 acres and destroyed over 9.4k+ structures. The Palisades Fire burned a total of 23,707 acres and destroyed over 6.8k structures.
Unfortunately, the weather leading up to these fires was one of the biggest causes of such destruction. For more information on these fires, visit this website article.

As we look back at this winter season, some locations in the southwest, including Phoenix, Arizona, have seen their warmest winter on record.

And some areas such as Albuquerque and Yuma have had their driest winter on record.

Gulf Coast Snowfall

On January 21 - 22, 2025, a historic winter system brought snowfall down to the Gulf Coast.

Many locations saw daily snowfall records including Baton Rouge (7.6"), New Orleans (8.0"), Thibodaux (8.5"), Mobile (7.5"), and Pensacola (10.0").

It was certainly a winter to remember across the Gulf Coast!

For more on your Spring Outlook, be sure to visit our article: La Nina Spilling Into Spring Outlook.