Sun set last night on near record-setting winter in La Crosse

Meteorological end of winter is March 1

As of March 1, winter is officially over according to the meteorological calendar.

It was one of the wettest winters in history in La Crosse but also one of the least snowy.

Forecaster Jeff Boyne with the National Weather Service in La Crosse says says it’s the second-wettest winter on record for La Crosse – 6.58 inches vs. the normal of 3.53 – and it was less than an inch from the record.

As for snowfall, the total is seven inches below normal for this time of the season – just enough to keep La Crosse out of the bottom 10 winters for snowfall, and Boyne says the worst should be over with.

“March is typically are fourth snowiest month,” Boyne said. “We still can see some snow into March. Right now, temperatures look like, through much of the month, probably above normal.”

As for snowfall, La Crosse is 7.1 inches below normal at 27.4, but just one inch under last year’s total (28.4).

“We’ll finish off probably as the eighth warmest (winter) and the warmest since 2011-12,” Boyne said.

Two big storms have accounted for most of La Crosse’s snow this season – one right after Christmas and another on Groundhog Day.