DURHAM, NH — Right now, New England is covered in a thick blanket of snow.
While that can be a nuisance for day-to-day living, this so-called snowpack plays an important role in our environment.
Elizabeth Burkowski is a research associate professor at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire. She’s been studying the fluctuations in the volume of snow that result in less snowpack.
“When we get a fresh snowpack, we’re very excited about it, and we do daily measurements. So, anytime there’s fresh snow, we’re out here.”
Armed with a variety of tools and measures, she goes from one station in the woods to another to check the depth of snow and the status of frost in the soil.
“When I measure the snowpack, I care about how deep it is, and then I care about how much water is stored in it.”
She says a thick covering of snow has environmental benefits all year long.
“A healthy snowpack can really contribute to soil health in the springtime. So, if we come out of a dry winter that didn’t have a lot of snow and then we continue to see dry conditions through a lack of rainfall, that could mean really big impacts on foliage. It could mean the increased risk of seeing drought conditions.”
Despite the wave of snowstorms this month, the trend of less snow in recent years is a concern for Burakowski.
“When we look back on records we typically would have about 60-80 sometimes even 100 days of snowpack here in the seacoast. But in recent years, the record warmth we saw in 2024, then we only saw a month of snow cover, and those declines are concerning. That means our landscape is fundamentally changing.”
Ski Bradford in Haverhill is living through those changes in real time.
Dennis Gauvin says they depend on making snow most of the time these days.
“Snowmaking is very expensive. There’s no getting around that. You’re paying for water. You’re paying for electricity. You’re paying for diesel fuel, because as you’re making snow, we also have the cats running out there. Anytime the natural snow is wonderful, a nice 6-7-8-inch snowstorm would a great thing.”
Research shows winter has been changing.
A study released last year found New England is one of the fastest warming regions of the world, and winter temperatures are spiking faster than other seasons.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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