The month of April is squarely in meteorological Spring. That's a fact. And April may be "springtime" in, say, Washington D.C.

But never here.

This year we were reminded about that with two inches greeting us on April 12 and four more the next morning. As far as I am concerned this dreary month is an annual 'April Fool's' joke. It is not so funny for beleaguered Sandisfielders yearning for springtime. And never mind about April ice which is another story.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, the historical "last frost date" here at the 1,000-foot elevation is May 13. New Boston is 758 feet; Sandisfield Center is 1,577. So, you there in the hills, better keep your ice scrapers handy if not your shovels. In this area measurable snow has fallen in May at least twice in recent times.

I have been keeping track of snowfalls at my place (simple ruler-and-eyeball technique) since late-fall 2014, a just barely adequate period to call it a trend. What does the chart below tell us?

First, averages do not mean much in the short-term because monthly and seasonal amounts vary widely, especially in the case of March which seems snowier than in the past. However, the pattern suggests that our winter snow amounts are trending lower and arrivals perhaps a little later.

The five-year period, 2014-19, saw an average of 74 inches here. The average for six years, 2020-25, was only 58 inches, a twenty-two percent difference. Of course, we cannot count on that because a couple monster storms in the few years ahead could affect the short-term trend. But it feels right.

For comparison, the chart includes possibly more precise snowfall tallies at Pittsfield airport for twenty-nine years, 1991-2020. Some years overlap with Sandisfield.

Think Spring!