ROANOKE 1997-98 Winter

The 1997–98 Super El Niño Winter
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1997–98 Super El Niño Winter

Travel weather insights · Dec 1997 – Mar 1998 vs. 1991–2020 normals · station data, period of record from 1912

2.0×
Normal winter rain (Dec–Feb): 18.34″ vs 9.14″
+2.4°F
Winter lows above normal, while highs ran −1.0°F
89%
Of normal winter snow: 10.9″ vs 12.3″
47 mph
Peak gust, Feb 17 — a daily record

🌡️ Temperatures

Departure from normal (°F). Mild nights, cooler cloudy days.

Avg highAvg low
Monthly extremes (°F)
Records
Dec 6Record cold high: 31° (old 35°, 1954)
Jan 7–8Record warm lows: 56° and 57°
Mar 13Record low: 15° (old 19°, 1948)

Winter freeze days (low ≤32°): Dec 19, Jan 12, Feb 10. Jan 1998 had half as many as Jan 1997 (23).

🌧️ Rainfall

Monthly precipitation (in) vs normal. January–February alone: 15.97″ vs 6.06″ (2.6×).

ObservedNormal
Feb 42.44″ — record (old 0.98″)
Mar 202.96″ — record (old 0.87″)
Jan 271.76″ — record (old 1.10″)
7 dayswith ≥1.00″ in Dec–Feb (4 Jan, 3 Feb)
12 dayswith ≥0.50″ in Dec–Feb
Contrast1997 total 32.04″ (−10.78″) → 1998 45.02″ (+2.20″)

The wet signal began in January; Dec 1997 was actually 0.71″ below normal.

❄️ Snowfall

Monthly snow (in) vs normal. T = trace.

ObservedNormal
Dec 306.0″ daily record (old 0.5″, 1930); 6″ depth tied the record
Jan 284.4″ — the only measurable snow after New Year; 3 days of snow cover Jan 1–3
Feb–MarOnly trace amounts, against 7.1″ normal

💨 Extreme Wind

Average wind (mph) Jan–Mar 1998. Dec 1997 wind data was not provided.

ObservedNormal
Feb 1747 mph gust from SSW; 34 mph 2-min wind
Feb 2436 mph 2-min wind WNW; daily avg 22.4 mph, the year’s only ≥20 mph day
Mar 1031 mph 2-min wind, daily avg 17.4 mph
JanCalmest January of the 14-year wind record (6.3 mph)
26daily 2-min/gust/avg wind records in Jan–Feb alone
Mar 1439 mph gust from the west

Wind records only go back to 1984, and most were set in 1997, so “record” here is a low bar.

🔍 Takeaways

  • Wet, not white. Rain doubled while snow stayed slightly below normal, with one big Dec 30 storm.
  • Cloud-blanket pattern. Lows ran warm while highs ran cool, typical of an active southern storm track.
  • Wind was episodic. Overall averages were below normal; the danger came in single storms (Feb 17, Feb 24).
  • Fall set the stage cold. Nov 1997 was 4.7°F below normal, and the warmth/wet didn’t arrive until January.

One analog year is not a forecast: El Niño shifts odds, but individual winters vary. Also, the 1997 wind file you pasted was identical to the 1998 one, so only 1998 wind is shown.

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