Whimpy Long Rains

Telemetry from the Northern Ice Field suggests that the Long Rains ended at the end of May, consistent with previous years. Snowfall frequency was fairly regular, beginning with a relatively large event in March (see this entry), but net accumulation was only 10-15 cm. This is quite a contrast to the Short Rains of November to mid-January which netted 45-50 cm of accumulation on the glacier.

The dry interval between the rains this year was centered on February, as is typically the case. It extended from mid-January to the March snowfall mentioned above, yet included 2-3 multi-day snowfall events of 5-10 cm.

In summary, as of today (mid-June) snow depth on the Northern Ice Field is ~60 cm.