In less than two weeks, March will roar in.

And, if the forecast and history are indicators of what lies ahead, this winter is likely to go down as one of the meekest of the past decade, in terms of snow.

For the winter of 2012-13, Millersville University's Weather Information Center had recorded just 7 inches of snow falling on Lancaster County through noon Thursday. Another 1.5 inches had fallen by Sunday evening, the result of several small storms.

Now consider this:

A warming trend is on the way, according to Accuweather.com, with high temperatures approaching 50 degrees expected by the time February turns to March.

And there is no significant snowfall in AccuWeather's long-range forecast through mid-March.

So we've gotten 8.5 inches of the white stuff so far, and the record-low for an entire winter over the past decade is 10.8 inches.

In only four of those 10 winters was there a March snowfall of at least 1 inch. The last one came March 2, 2009, when 6 inches blanketed the county.

There has been just one measurable April snowfall in Lancaster County over the past decade. That came when 2 inches fell April 8, 2003.

That we've seen less snow this winter than last might seem odd, considering that this year winter is actually cold.

In January, low temperatures on 23 days were below freezing, including six days with lows below 20 degrees.

On Jan. 23, the mercury never climbed above 20 degrees.

And through Sunday, we've experienced temperatures below freezing every single day in February.

That's far different than last year, which was unusually warm.

In January 2012, the mercury climbed above 50 nine times, including three days when it was above 60.

February had eight days over 50 degrees, including two above 60.

March was truly bizarre, with a stretch from the 11th through the 25th when temperatures rose above 60 degrees every day, and above 70 degrees on seven of those days.

Yet Lancaster County saw more snow last winter through Feb. 17 than it has this season.

Lancaster native Jon Doman, who moved to Montgomery County two years ago, is the trip organizer for Lancaster Ski Club.

On Feb. 8, the club took a day trip to Camelback Mountain in the Poconos, where it snowed all day.

"That was nice," Doman said. "We were skiing on manmade snow, but to be able to ski in Pennsylvania with snow falling was really special."

As someone who loves to play in the snow, Doman doesn't mind traveling away from home to do so.

"I drive a truck for a living, so I don't need a lot of snow down here around home," he said.

Neil Mengel of Mount Joy is vice president of the 400-member ski club.

The retired salesman said this winter has been better than last for his favorite winter sport — even though there's been less snow — simply because it's been colder.

"The ski resorts can make good snow as long as it's below 32 degrees," Mengel said. "Last year, it was just too warm for good snow-making conditions."

Mengel said he's been traveling regularly to Ski Roundtop in York County most weeks this winter, and enjoying some fine skiing.

"It's been a good season," he said. "The snow there has been excellent, and it's mostly manmade."
preilly@lnpnews.com