The Portland Press Herald / The Maine Sunday Telegram

March 11

Our View: Both thermometers and forecasters say it: Spring!

As Mainers know, however, we are likely to be a long way from seeing the last flake fall.

This part of Maine racked up "two of the nine worst winters of the past six decades" in 2007-08 and 2008-09, according to one report.

While the average snowfall in the region runs about 60 inches (yes, that's 5 feet), in 2007-08 there was 100 inches of snow, and well above 80 last winter.

So, the scant 37 inches of snow recorded in Portland's "snowfall to date" reports is not only well below average, it is well below our recent experience. Coming off a couple of hard winters makes the current bare ground and high temps in the 50s seem exceptional.

But it's worth remembering that you can't average 60 inches of snow without having as many winters with 20 inches under that mark as there are winters that exceed it by 20, 30 or 40 inches – or more.

The 12 feet of snow – 144 full inches – that fell in the winter of 1970-71 still hasn't been forgotten by the people who lived through it. Weather records, after all, are made to be broken.

So, for those people saying we're experiencing a "Virginia winter" and sounding sad about it, remember that Virginia and the mid-Atlantic states have gotten the kind of winter that Mainers had to endure over the past couple of years.

As trade-offs go, many Mainers would say that this one was worthwhile, although skiers and snowmobilers would vehemently disagree. But there's this to ponder: While astronomical spring doesn't arrive until the vernal equinox on March 20, meteorologists divide the calendar's four seasons into even quarters.

So, to your friendly forecaster, we've been in spring for the past 10 days. The difference is, this year it finally feels like it.