2011–12 North American winter

2011–12 North American winter
2011–12 North American winter
	Temperature map of the United States on an unusually warm winter day, January 31, 2012
Seasonal boundaries
Meteorological winter	December 1 – February 29
Astronomical winter	December 21 – March 20
First event started	October 27, 2011
Last event concluded	January 21, 2012
Most notable event
Name	2011 Halloween nor'easter
• Duration	October 28–November 1, 2011
Seasonal statistics
Maximum snowfall accumulation	32 in (81 cm) ; (Peru, Massachusetts)
Total fatalities	43-49 total
Total damage	Unknown

The 2011–12 North American winter by and large saw above normal average temperatures across the continent, with the Contiguous United States encountering its fourth-warmest winter on record, along with an unusually low number of significant winter precipitation events. The primary outlier was Alaska, parts of which experienced their coldest January on record.

While there is no well-agreed-upon date used to indicate the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, there are two definitions of winter which may be used. Based on the astronomical definition, winter begins at the winter solstice, which in 2011 occurred late on December 21 (early on December 22 in EST), and ends at the March equinox, which in 2012 occurred on March 20 (March 19 in CDT and EDT). Based on the meteorological definition, the first day of winter is December 1 and the last day February 29. Both definitions involve a period of approximately three months, with some variability.