The winter just ending was not normal, but thus far the spring just starting promises to be, local weather experts said.

Jamie Matusiak, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, W.Va., said the Tri-State was blanketed with 40 inches of snow between December and February. The average for this area during that period is 25.7 inches.

Matusiak said February was the snowiest of the three months, with a 16.8 inch snowfall, followed by 15.7 in January and 7.5 in December. There was no snowfall prior to December.

“The consensus in the office is, we had a cooler winter than we have had in the last 10 years and there was an increased frequency of storms,” Matusiak said. “A few of the storms passed to the south of West Virginia and when that happens the tendency is to get more snow than rain.”

The snowiest winter on record since the National Weather Service began keeping records was 60.9 inches in 1935-36.

The average temperature for the winter was 32 degrees, cooler than usual but not record setting, Matusiak said.

As for spring and early summer, Matusiak said thus far indicators point to normal or near-normal temperatures and precipitation.