PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Long shadows of winter linger on the the budding flowers of spring. Spring?

Granted, the “meteorological winter” begins December first and ends the last day of February. Nevertheless, this season has been highly unusual.

KDKA Meteorologist Dennis Bowman says this winter’s major trait has been consistency.

“From start to finish, it has been mild, mild, mild. And there has been an absence of extreme cold. And that’s what makes people think this has to be the warmest winter of all time. And that’s not true. If the winter season ended today, we would be 20th all time for warmest winters.”

Pittsburgh’s warmest recorded winter dates back to the late 19th century.

“The winter of 1889-1890. And that was with an average temperature of 43 degrees. We’re just over 35 degrees, about eight degrees cooler, with our average temperature this winter.”

As for snowfall: “We’re within a couple of inches short of normalcy on snow. It’s just that it’s been nickels and dimes. A whole bunch of light snowfalls that didn’t hang around very long.”