Spring has sprung!

[CanisLupusArctos]

Originally Posted by Weirs guy

Last season when we had less snow but it was colder was an indication of?

Arctic cold air.

As we all know in summer, the warmer air gets, the more humidity (moisture) it can hold. Extremely cold air has a very low capacity for moisture. When it is "in control" as it was last winter, it's usually pretty dry. Any snow we get is also usually pretty dry. In order to have snow you need warm air trying to move in... this brings the necessary moisture. Since the cold air can't hold the new moisture it falls out of the air (precipitates) as snow. If the arctic cold air is well-established over a large area like it was last winter, it tends to deflect other weather systems and air masses because it's heavy, dense air that doesn't move easily.