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How rare are September, October, and November snowstorms?

Started by thspfc, September 27, 2019, 07:43:43 PM

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Brandon

Quote from: thspfc on September 28, 2019, 06:00:27 PM
Quote from: GaryV on September 28, 2019, 07:43:40 AM
I heard that Mackinac Island has had snow recorded in every month of the year.
I'm not calling you out, but that sounds fake. Snow in July just seems impossible at 45 degrees north and no altitude to speak of.

I don't think Mackinac Island has, but trace amounts can happen in the UP, particularly the Keweenaw, throughout June, July, and August.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg


KEVIN_224

#26
Quote from: Alps on September 27, 2019, 07:49:23 PM
There was one year recently where we in NJ had a giant snowstorm that cancelled Halloween, and an otherwise quiet winter.

Snowtober...Saturday, October 29, 2011. It helped set Connecticut's current record for power outages only two months after the record set by Hurricane Irene.






We had a snowstorm in mid-November 2018. No blizzards, thank goodness!

D-Dey65

Quote from: Jim on September 28, 2019, 08:25:08 AM
A more typical timing of our first significant snow would be late November or early December.
Speaking of November snow in New York, back in November 2014 when that blizzard named "Knife" hit Buffalo and had no impact on the New York Tri-State Area whatsoever, I overheard a conversation between my aunt and uncle. She was worried I might get stuck in that storm on the way home, despite the fact that none of my trips to New York City or Long Island include anything upstate.

I think she might've confused Buffalo with Baltimore. That woman has no sense of direction.


jeffandnicole

Quote from: D-Dey65 on September 29, 2019, 11:31:39 AM
...I think she might've confused Buffalo with Baltimore. That woman has no sense of direction.

Many people are often confused with directions and weather. Combine the two and it's an all-out confusion clusterfuck.

On travel websites, I so often see "It's raining today. Will that impact my trip next month?" Or, "The weather forecast looks bad next week; should I cancel the trip I saved up 2 years to go on?" In most cases, they're going to climates that typically get the weather they see, but somehow during the entire planning process they were never told or looked at what the typical weather would normally be.  And because weather forecasts are generalized, they act as if the entire week will be a washout if they see a 30% chance of showers.  When combined with roads, I've seen it worse. "I saw I-80 is closed in California because of snow. How does this impact my drive from NYC to Cleveland"?

1995hoo

Here in the DC area, I can only remember snow in October one time, and I certainly wouldn't call it a snowstorm–it was more of a minimal dusting of the sort that makes your lawn look like it was dusted with powdered sugar but doesn't stick to the streets and sidewalks. Don't remember what year it was other than that it was sometime after 2010. I'm sure I have pictures somewhere on my PC, though.

Snow in November here is not a regular occurrence but isn't so rare as to be bizarre. We've had snow for Veterans' Day a few times and it's been enough to make for a messy commute home.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

webny99

Snow in September would be rare, although the Rochester area has recorded measurable snowfall in every month except July.

October is a bit of a wild card. There could be snow, especially as you get past Columbus Day and towards Halloween, but it wouldn't exactly be expected. You will almost certainly see a few snowfalls before Thanksgiving - or on Thanksgiving (IIRC, it has snowed 4 of the past 5 Thanksgivings) - but late November / early December is when the real dependable and accumulating snow starts coming.

Max Rockatansky

Apparently the snow this past weekend was substantial enough that it closed Tioga Pass early.  CA 108 and CA 4 are presently closed although I'm not certain if it is for the winter at this point.

kphoger

Common in Kansas.  Where I grew up in northwestern Kansas, it was rare for the first snow to happen after November.  The first snowstorm usually happened sometime around Halloween, as I recall.  Here in Wichita, however, it's common for the first snow to come in January, but it varies greatly from year to year here.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

ET21

I've only had maybe a handfall of "snowfalls" (traces or brief dustings), though last year we had a decent blizzard the weekend of Thanksgiving. About 3 years ago we had flurries on Halloween
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

D-Dey65

In November 2017, there were two days I saw trace elements of snow in the New York Tri-State Area. One was at the parking lot of the Food Universe in Fresh Meadows on Hollis Court & Francis Lewis Boulevards and the westbound service road of I-495, and the other was at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike as I was heading home.




kphoger

The reason western Kansas often has snowstorms in October or November that eastern Colorado and western Kansas are in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains.  Typically, storms dump their load before they're done making it east across the mountains, so those plains to the east don't receive much rain or snow.  However, if a storm is mighty enough to actually make it past the Front Range, then it's also mighty enough to dump a whole bunch of snow.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Crown Victoria

For those of us in/near the Lehigh Valley area, snow in October is not unheard of...indeed, the Halloween storm of 2011 was our heaviest storm for 2011-12!  As for November, it's not every year, but it happens often enough.  The November 2018 snowstorm made my 20 mile commute take 2 hours, which was nothing compared to what many others endured.

D-Dey65

I'm watching the end of a football game between the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, and it's snowing fairly heavy in Green Bay. Any other games getting any snow right now?

BTW, it almost looked like the Panthers got a touchdown at the last second, but the video evidence shows otherwise.


thspfc

I thought we were going to have a snow day today, but no bueno.  :-/

Flint1979

Not rare in Michigan. Parts of the thumb area are expected to get up to 20 inches of snow this week.

ozarkman417

Everytime snow or ice is in the forecast it just doesn't happen. I really wanted this Monday off :/

SM-G965U


1995hoo

Quote from: ozarkman417 on November 11, 2019, 09:10:14 AM
Everytime snow or ice is in the forecast it just doesn't happen. I really wanted this Monday off :/

SM-G965U



I'm at home today because of a bad cold I don't want to spread around the office (I have sick leave, so I might as well use it). I'm a little disappointed because I kind of wanted to make the commute today–the feds are off for Veterans' Day, so there's no traffic and the HOV restriction on I-395 isn't in effect. HO/T operations start Sunday on that road, so it would have been my last chance to use the reversible lanes for free on a holiday. Oh well.

It's nice outside now (46° and sunny, supposed to go to around 60° later), but overnight it's supposed to go down to the 20s with rain and possible snow flurries tomorrow, then Tuesday night lows in the upper teens/low 20s.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

DaBigE

Quote from: thspfc on November 11, 2019, 08:14:34 AM
I thought we were going to have a snow day today, but no bueno.  :-/

Please tell me you're joking. For less than 6", maybe a delay. Madison wasn't even predicted to get more than 3" and looking out my window, that's about what we got, +/- and inch.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

jakeroot

Snow before December 21st? Exceptionally common in the Seattle area. Some of the most memorable storms from the past 20 years have been in November and December ($).

According to this Seattle Times article from 2014, two-thirds of "memorable" snow storms in the Seattle area have occured before the winter solstice.

I've always joked that fall ends here in late November, not December. But that's not to say we won't see snow late in the year. I've seen snow in April.

thspfc

Quote from: DaBigE on November 11, 2019, 01:35:47 PM
Quote from: thspfc on November 11, 2019, 08:14:34 AM
I thought we were going to have a snow day today, but no bueno.  :-/

Please tell me you're joking. For less than 6", maybe a delay. Madison wasn't even predicted to get more than 3" and looking out my window, that's about what we got, +/- and inch.
Yeah, I was hopeful but not optimistic. I'm a little spoiled when it comes to that because we had six of them last year (though three were for extreme cold, not snow).

ozarkman417

Quote from: DaBigE on November 11, 2019, 01:35:47 PM
Quote from: thspfc on November 11, 2019, 08:14:34 AM
I thought we were going to have a snow day today, but no bueno.  :-/

Please tell me you're joking. For less than 6", maybe a delay. Madison wasn't even predicted to get more than 3" and looking out my window, that's about what we got, +/- and inch.
Anywhere south of State Highway 32 in Missouri (approximately) doesn't get a whole lot of snow at all and anywhere in that area an inch is all it takes to cancel school. North of there it's three, depending on the district.
When I said there is not a lot of snow south of 32, that is basically saying that snow becomes ice. Ice is more likely to cause a school cancellation that snow is.

thspfc

Quote from: jakeroot on November 11, 2019, 03:22:17 PM
Snow before December 21st? Exceptionally common in the Seattle area. Some of the most memorable storms from the past 20 years have been in November and December ($).

According to this Seattle Times article from 2014, two-thirds of "memorable" snow storms in the Seattle area have occured before the winter solstice.

I've always joked that fall ends here in late November, not December. But that's not to say we won't see snow late in the year. I've seen snow in April.
We can't get over the technicalities of when seasons start and end on this forum, can we. In the first post, I stated that we're talking about September and October. Do I need to change the title to get people to understand?

Anyways, in Wisconsin, winter starts when there is an accumulating snow that sticks on the ground for 3+ days, roughly. Spring starts when the majority of the snow melts, which is sometimes in Feburary, sometimes in March, or sometimes in April.

DaBigE

Quote from: thspfc on November 11, 2019, 09:51:24 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on November 11, 2019, 03:22:17 PM
Snow before December 21st? Exceptionally common in the Seattle area. Some of the most memorable storms from the past 20 years have been in November and December ($).

According to this Seattle Times article from 2014, two-thirds of "memorable" snow storms in the Seattle area have occured before the winter solstice.

I've always joked that fall ends here in late November, not December. But that's not to say we won't see snow late in the year. I've seen snow in April.
We can't get over the technicalities of when seasons start and end on this forum, can we. In the first post, I stated that we're talking about September and October. Do I need to change the title to get people to understand?

Anyways, in Wisconsin, winter starts when there is an accumulating snow that sticks on the ground for 3+ days, roughly. Spring starts when the majority of the snow melts, which is sometimes in Feburary, sometimes in March, or sometimes in April.

By that metric, we will be back to spring by next weekend/early next week.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

renegade

Apparently, not so much around here ... we got a foot of snow today.
Don’t ask me how I know.  Just understand that I do.

jakeroot

Quote from: thspfc on November 11, 2019, 09:51:24 PM
Do I need to change the title to get people to understand?

Probably, yeah. September is mostly summer, not fall.



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