If the Grinch stole Christmas, who stole Old Man Winter? Someone certainly kidnapped him this past winter season. At least that’s how the data appears when you look at summaries from the Midwest for climatological winter, which includes December, January and February.

Yes, there was a cold outbreak here and there, including a long week in the deep freeze across much of the Midwest in January. “Yet overall, we saw a very mild winter, especially in terms of snowfall,” says Beth Hall, director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, located at Purdue University.

Hall says lower-than-average snowfall totals weren’t a surprise. In fact, they were predicted by most long-term weather forecasters. An El Niño was in play, and El Niño winters in the Midwest are often warmer than average, which often means less snow than average.

What no one can predict ahead of time, however, Hall notes, is how intense a trend will be once it plays out. Will it be just a little below normal or a lot? In this case, the prediction was right on target, and the trend was skewed far to the low side.

What weather data says

Here are some facts and figures from the 2023-24 climatological winter that prove it was extreme.

Related:Weather replay: Warm trend continues in Indiana

The Midwestern Regional Climate Center also computes something called the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index, Hall says. It quantifies winter severity by assigning values to intensity and persistence of cold weather, amount of snow, and persistence of snow on the ground.

When data was plotted on a historical graph, the 2023-24 winter season for Indianapolis was one of the mildest on record, Hall concludes.