It will comes as no surprise to many readers that this winter season's lingering cold weather brought above average snowfall throughout the region.

So far, the region has been covered with a total of 55.2 inches of snow, according to David Shallenberger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

He noted that overall precipitation is down in the area, but because of steady freezing temperatures, this year has seen more snow than years past.

But for Butler County and the surrounding areas, 55.2 inches is an unremarkable figure when compared with the past 10 years of data gathered from a combination of Butler and Pittsburgh weather stations. The National Weather Service collects data from various weather stations, but between 2011 and 2015 snowfall data from Butler was mostly unavailable.

“The last two years were very mild, and this year has been a little above average,” said Kelly Maurer, director of public works in Cranberry Township. “It's been the worst winter in the recent past, but nowhere near our snowmageddon in 2010.”

According to National Weather Service information gathered from Pittsburgh, in the 2009-2010 season the region experienced 72.8 inches. The following season, from 2010 to 2011, experienced 68 inches.

Maurer said that in the Cranberry Township area, 48 inches has been recorded so far this winter season, putting it just above average for the area “and, hopefully, we won't get too much more.”

She said the previous two winter seasons were mild by comparison, making this year seem worse than it really was.

Maurer noted that the past week has brought comparatively warm temperatures, thawing out an area that has experienced more or less continuous snow and cold for much of the season.

“We went from one of our worst weeks, and now we've switched to a great one. It's going to be a wet spring, that's for sure,” Maurer said.

She also praised road crews and township employees for dealing with the extra challenge of taking coronavirus-reducing precautions, and she said there were no cases of the virus spreading among the workers.

On March 15, the township will begin bringing its season crews back for spring activities, but for now they are prepared to deal with any late season snowfall by keeping snow plows on their vehicles.

Another element of winter is salt usage, and Maurer said last winter season was so mild that they didn't need to replenish their storage, which holds 6,000 tons of salt. But halfway through this season, she said they had to buy 4,000 tons of salt. They also used 60,000 gallons of liquid brine.

In total, the township's snow removal vehicles drove 22,000 miles, which is just a little over average for the township, compared to other winter seasons.

“Now, we've moved into pothole patching. We'll be taking stock of damage from the winter. Everything was under snowpack all winter, so we're driving around seeing if there any issues with roads and stuff,” she said.

For David Meeder, director of public works for Butler Township, salt use is an expensive, but necessary, tool.

In February, the township had crews out 17 times salting and plowing roads and 10 times in January. And salt use in February totals 1,090 tons, which comes with a price tag of $82,000. In January, crews used 400 tons of salt at a cost of $30,084. He said the township pays $75.21 a ton.

“It definitely felt harsher this year than the last couple of years,” Meeder said. “It's very costly.”

He said that steady snowfall and persistent freezing temperatures kept road crews out all night for much of the season.

The weather this weekend is forecast to be warmer, with highs of at least 50 degrees. Rain is expected.

“It's not quite March yet, but we're starting to look ahead,” Maurer said.