Tag Archives: Ohio climate

Spring 2021 Weather Review

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Spring 2021 weather review

Today’s Spring 2021 weather review shows that the season represented a significant departure from other recent years in that it was drier than average. In fact, there were fewer measurable precipitation days during the season than any other spring since 1879. Snowfall was also well below normal aside from a rare late April event. Temperatures swung wildly, with highs generally well above normal and lows slightly below normal.

1991-2020 Spring Normals
Average High: 63.1
Average Low: 42.2
Mean: 52.7
Precipitation: 11.46″
Snowfall: 4.6″

2021 March-May
Average High: 65.2 9th Warmest
Average Low: 42.0 Tied for 29th Warmest
Mean: 53.6 +0.9 20th Warmest
Precipitation: 9.59″ 62nd Driest
Snowfall: 1.2″ Ties for 12th Least Snowiest
Average Daily Snow Depth: 0.0″
Largest Snowstorm: 1.2″ on April 21st
# of 32 or Below Highs: 0 Tied for 1st Fewest
# of 32 or Below Lows: 20 Tied for 12th Fewest
# of 80 or Above Highs: 14 Tied for 12th Most
# of 70 or Above Lows: 0 Tied for 1st Fewest
# of Measurable Precipitation Days: 27 1st Fewest on Record
# of Measurable Snowfall Days: 1 Tied for 2nd Fewest

Average High By Month
March 2021: 59.0 7th Warmest
April 2021: 64.4 Tied for 29th Warmest
May 2021: 72.1 Tied for 44th Coldest

Average Low By Month
March 2021: 34.7 27th Warmest
April 2021: 42.0 Tied for 35th Warmest
May 2021: 49.2 27th Coldest

Mean By Month
March 2021: 46.9 12th Warmest
April 2021: 53.2 Tied for 28th Warmest
May 2021: 60.6 Tied for 32nd Coldest

Precipitation By Month
March 2021: 2.85″ 54th Driest
April 2021: 3.28″ 60th Wettest
May 2021: 3.46″ 61st Driest

Snowfall By Month
March 2021: 0.0″ Tied for Least Snowy
April 2021: 1.2″ 14th Least Snowy
May 2021: 0.0″ Tied for Least Snowy- Only a handful of years have had a trace or more of snow in May.

Average Snow Depth By Month
March 2021: 0.0″
April 2021: 0.0″
May 2021: 0.0″



Maximum High By Month
March 2021: 75 on the 24th
April 2021: 83 on the 27th
May 2021: 91 on the 25th

Minimum High By Month
March 2021: 40 on the 15th
April 2021: 37 o the 1st
Mays 2021: 51 on the 9th

Maximum Low By Month
March 2021: 56 on the 11th
April 2021: 65 on the 28th
May 2021: 69 on the 24th

Maximum Low Records
-The 65 on April 28th tied the record for the date with 1914.

Minimum Low By Month
March 2021: 19 on the 5th
April 2021: 21 on the 2nd
May 2021: 34 on the 1st

Highest Daily Precipitation By Month
March 2021: 1.12″ on the 18th
April 2021: 1.88″ on the 29th
May 2021: 1.43″ on the 9th

Precipitation Records
-The 1.88″ on April 29th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 1.82″ set in 1996.
-The 1.43″ on May 9th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 1.12″ set in 1909.

Highest Daily Snowfall By Month
March 2021: 0.0″
April 2021: 1.2″ on the 21st
May 2021: 0.0″

Deepest Snow Depth By Month
March 2021: 0.0″
April 2021: 1″ on the 21st
May 2021: 0.0″

For more spring records and local weather information, visit the following links.
Spring Season Records
Wilmington National Weather Service



Late Season Snowfalls Through History

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Much to the potential annoyance of many, parts of Ohio- including Columbus are predicted to see a late-season snowfall Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. As late as it may seem, Columbus has seen even later season snowfalls since 1878. Though rare, these events do happen, and have sometimes been significant.

late season snowfalls Columbus, Ohio

The US weather map on the morning of May 21, 1883.

The absolute latest measurable snow occurred on May 21st, 1883, when 0.4″ fell. The amount was not impactful, but the date certainly was. People are normally thinking about summer by then, but instead got a nasty taste of winter. The present-day I-71 corridor in the state generally had had an inch or less- Cincinnati had upwards of 2″, with 3″ near Hamilton. However, areas just to the north and west were hammered with the heaviest May snow ever recorded.

An excerpt from the book “Thunder in the Heartland” by Thomas W. Schmidlin:
“A drizzling rain on Monday morning, 21 May, turned to snow at 9AM, and the air was filled with large, damp flakes all day. The Sidney Journal reported that ‘though it thawed, it lay six inches deep on Tuesday morning.’ Considering that much of the snow melted as it fell, a total of fifteen to twenty inches was estimated for Sidney. Snow depts of ten inches were measured on the north side of buildings at Houston in Shelby County.”

The Columbus Dispatch reported that snow fell in every major city from Lancaster north and west. Crops and trees were damaged by the heavy, wet snow across Western Ohio during the event. Temperatures at most locations were at or above freezing during the snow, so it did not stick around long after. Just 3 days later, it hit 80 degrees in Columbus.

Dates of Measurable Snowfalls After April 15th
1. May 21, 1883: 0.4″
2. May 9, 1923: 0.3″
3. May 7, 1989: 0.8″
4. April 30, 1908: 2.4″
5. April 24, 2005: 3.0″
6. April 22, 1893: 0.8″
6. April 22, 1901: 0.1″
7. April 21, 1934: 0.4″
7. April 21, 1936: 0.2″
7. April 21, 1953: 0.2″
8. April 20, 1910: 2.4″
8. April 20, 1962: 0.1″
9. April 19, 1887: 0.1″
9. April 19, 1907: 0.4″
9. April 19, 1969: 0.5″
9. April 19, 2019: 0.3″
10. April 18, 1983: 0.1″
10. April 18, 1984: 0.3″
11. April 17, 1961: 1.0″
11. April 17, 2001: 0.6″
12. April 16, 1935: 0.4″
12. April 16, 1956: 0.3″
12. April 16, 1996: 0.1″

Trace amounts have occurred many additional times after April 15th, including into early May. Measurable snow, however, has only occurred 23 times after April 15th since 1878. So snow after that date has occurred roughly once out of every 6.2 years. That rate is not going to be matched this time, as measurable snow fell on April 19th last year. Snow is predicted sometime tomorrow night, the 20th. If it ends up being measurable, it would fall into the tie of 8th latest such ever recorded.

To see more winter season records and local weather information and forecasts, go to the below links.
Wilmington National Weather Service
Winter Season Records
Winter Storms