Tag Archives: Ohio weather history

Winter 2019-2020 Review

Posted on by
Reply



Winter 2019-2020 Review Columbus, Ohio

The Winter 2019-2020 Review has arrived! Aside some a few instances, winter was largely absent in Ohio for the 2019-2020 season. The season was bookended by periods of cold while the heart of winter was one of the warmest on record. Along with the warmth, precipitation was high throughout the season, but that didn’t translate into much snow.

Temperature and snowfall ranking data goes back to the winter of 1878-1879. Snow depth ranking data goes back to 1940.

December-February Only
Average High: 43.5 11th Warmest
Average Low: 28.3 9th Warmest
Mean: 35.9 10th Warmest
Precipitation: 9.69″ 29th Wettest
Snowfall: 8.3″ 16th Least Snowiest
Average Daily Snow Depth: 0.1″ 2nd Lowest
Largest Snowstorm: 2.2″ December 15th-16th
32 or Below Highs: 12 6th Fewest
32 or Below Lows: 65 13th Fewest
Measurable Precipitation Days: 34 10th Fewest
Measurable Snowfall Days: 13 9th Fewest
Deepest Snow Depth: 2″ on February 9th
Days with 1″+ Snow Depth: 5 3rd Fewest

Entire Cold Season- October-April
Average High: 51.9 10th Warmest
Average Low: 34.1 17th Warmest
Mean: 43.0 11th Warmest
Precipitation: 27.60″ 6th Wettest
Snowfall: 11.7″ 18th Least Snowiest
Average Snow Depth: 0.1″ 2nd Lowest
Largest Snowstorm: 2.8″ November 11th-12th
32 or Below Highs: 14 4th Fewest
32 or Below Lows: 98 17th Fewest
Measurable Precipitation Days: 87 18th Most
Measurable Snowfall Days: 16 7th Fewest
Deepest Snow Depth: 2″ on February 9th
Days with 1″+ Snow Depth: 8 5th Fewest

Average High By Month
October 2019: 69.8 13th Warmest
November 2019: 47.3 21st Coldest
December 2019: 45.9 12th Warmest
January 2020: 43.3 16th Warmest
February 2020: 41.2 35th Warmest
March 2020: 55.4 18th Warmest
April 2020: 59.6 21st Coldest

Average Low By Month
October 2019: 47.0 26th Warmest
November 2019: 30.3 9th Coldest
December 2019: 28.8 28th Warmest
January 2020: 30.1 8th Warmest
February 2020: 25.9 35th Warmest
March 2020: 37.6 13th Warmest
April 2020: 38.7 16th Coldest

Mean By Month
October 2019: 58.4 18th Warmest
November 2019: 38.8 12th Coldest
December 2019: 37.4 18th Warmest
January 2020: 36.7 13th Warmest
February 2020: 33.6 38th Warmest
March 2020: 46.5 13th Warmest
April 2020: 49.2 23rd Coldest

The 2019-2020 winter months were full of extremes, and most months ended up in either the top 20 coldest or warmest ever recorded.



Precipitation By Month
October 2019: 4.05″ 19th Wettest
November 2019: 1.48″ 24th Driest
December 2019: 2.76″ 62nd Wettest
January 2020: 4.37″ 25th Wettest
February 2020: 2.56″ 54th Wettest
March 2020: 8.16″ 2nd Wettest
April 2020: 4.22″ 32nd Wettest

Snowfall By Month
October 2019: Trace 2nd Least Snowiest
November 2019: 2.8″ 22nd Snowiest
December 2019: 2.3″ 23rd Least Snowiest
January 2020: 0.3″ 3rd Least Snowiest
February 2020: 5.7″ 47th Snowiest
March 2020: 0.6″ 5th Least Snowiest
April 2020: Trace 2nd Least Snowiest

As with temperature, precipitation and snowfall varied wildly as well, but generally most months were wetter than normal and less snowy than normal.

Average Snow Depth By Month
October 2019: 0.0″
November 2019: 0.2″
December 2019: 0.1″
January 2020: Trace
February 2020: 0.2″
March 2020: Trace
April 2020: 0.0″

Maximum High By Month
October: 94 on the 1st and 2nd
November: 59 on the 27th
December: 62 on the 27th
January: 71 on the 11th
February: 63 on the 3rd
March: 76 on the 28th
April: 77 on the 7th

Maximum High Records
-The 94 on October 1st was a record for the date, beating the old record of 89 set in 1952. This is also the warmest October temperature ever recorded, beating the old October record of 91 set in 2007.
-The 94 on October 2nd was a record for the date, beating the old record of 88 set in 1919. This also ties for the warmest October temperature ever, set on October 1st, 2019, the previous day.
-The 93 on October 3rd was a record for the date, beating the old record of 89 set in 1898 and 1953.
-The 71 on January 11th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 66 set in 1886 and 1890.
-The 63 on February 3rd tied the old record set in 1890.

Minimum High By Month
October: 55 on the 12th
November: 28 on the 12th and 13th
December: 29 on the 18th
January: 28 on the 20th
February: 24 on the 14th
March: 38 on the 21st
April: 45 on the 10th

Minimum High Records
-The 28 on the 12th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 30 set in 1920.

Maximum Low By Month
October: 68 on the 2nd
November: 39 on the 21st and 27th
December: 47 on the 9th and 29th
January: 53 on the 11th
February: 39 on the 25th
March: 55 on the 29th
April: 53 on the 8th

Maximum Low Records
-The 45 on January 10th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 43 set in 1960.

Minimum Low By Month
October: 35 on the 31st
November: 11 on the 13th
December: 13 on the 19th
January: 12 on the 20th
February: 13 on the 15th and 21st
March: 19 on the 1st
April: 26 on the 16th

Minimum Low Records
-The 15 on November 12th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 16 set in 1911.
-The 11 on November 13th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 14 set in 1911.

Highest Daily Precipitation By Month
October: 1.51″ on the 31st
November: 0.33″ on the 27th
December: 1.20″ on the 29th
January: 1.13″ on the 18th
February: 0.57″ on the 12th
March: 2.89″ on the 20th
April: 0.66″ on the 7th

Precipitation Records
-The 1.51″ on October 31st was a record for the date, beating the old record of 1.44″ set in 1932.
-The 1.20″ on December 29th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 1.13″ set in 1915.
-The 1.13″ on January 18th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 0.79″ set in 1927.
-The 1.31″ on March 4th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 0.74″ set in 1951.
-The 2.89″ that fell on March 20th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 1.60″ set in 1984.

Highest Daily Snowfall By Month
October: Trace on the 31st
November: 2.1″ on the 12th
December: 1.5″ on the 15th
January: 0.2″ on the 25th
February: 1.8″ on the 8th
March: 0.6″ on the 14th
April: Trace on the 15th and 17th

Snowfall Records
-The 2.1″ on November 11th was a record for the date, beating the old record of 0.5″ set in 1983.

Deepest Snow Depth By Month
October: 0″
November: 3″ on the 12th
December: 2″ on the 16th
January: Trace on the 19th and 20th
February: 2″ on the 29th
March: Trace on the 15th
April: 0″

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

Other Recent Winter Season Reviews
Winter 2018-2019
Winter 2017-2018
Winter 2016-2017



The Great Thanksgiving Blizzard of 1950

Posted on by
Reply




The Great Thanksgiving Blizzard of 1950

Springfield, Ohio after the storm.

Exactly 67 years ago today, the Great Thanksgiving Blizzard of 1950 began. It was the biggest snowstorm for Columbus, and indeed most of Ohio, during the 40-year period of 1920-1960. That period, especially from the mid-1920s through the mid-1950s, had the lowest rates of cold and snowy winters of any comparable period. The average seasonal snowfall during that period was just 19.1″, a full 9″ below the average the 1980s-2010s have had to date. Still, the period was not without its memorable winters, including 1935-36, 1939-40 and 1947-48. None of those winters, however, had a snow event nearly as big as November 1950.

October 1950 had generally been very warm, ranking historically as the 19th warmest October in Columbus. Highs reached 65 or higher on 21 days of the month. This warmth lasted through early November, and the 80 degrees recorded on November 1st, 1950 remains tied for the warmest November temperature ever recorded. After that, the month seesawed up and down until a strong cold front and rainstorm on the 19th-20th dropped temperatures 25-30 degrees across the state, from the upper 50s-low 60s on the 20th to the low-mid 30s on the 21st. This front would be one of the catalysts for one of Ohio’s greatest winter weather events in its history.

Snow began in Columbus and other parts of Ohio on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 23rd as a low moved through the Great Lakes and weakened. Behind that system, another cold high pressure was diving south out of Canada.

Thursday, November 23rd 1950 National Map

On Friday the 24th, a low formed on the stalled cold front that had moved through Ohio a few days earlier. Initially forming in southeastern North Carolina, this low would’ve normally gone out to see or moved up the East Coast as a Nor’easter. Instead, the strong, cold high pressure was moving into the Ohio Valley at the same time, and the little low exploded and as it began to move north. The strong push of cold was very evident in Ohio, as temperatures plunged from the upper-30s to upper 40s on Thanksgiving afternoon to single digits and low teens by early Friday morning.

Friday, November 24th, 1950 National Map

The low moved into southern Pennsylvania by the morning of the 25th, and then began to do something few other storms ever do- it began to retrograde toward the west and Ohio, continuing to strengthen as it went. The unusual west movement was caused by a blocking high pressure system parked over Maine.

Saturday, November 25th, 1950 National Map

Light snow that had been ongoing in Ohio on the 24th quickly intensified from east to west across the state as the low moved westward from Central Pennsylvania to Northern Ohio by the end of the day on the 25th. With it arrived winds of 40-60 miles per hour, causing blinding white-outs and drifting.
Saturday the 25th was the height of the storm as the low pressure bottomed out at 978mb, a pressure normally associated with hurricanes. This day was, coincidentally, the famed Ohio State-Michigan rivalry football game, now famously known as the “Snow Bowl” for its terrible weather conditions.

With temperatures on Saturday morning in the single digits, wind chills well below zero and with heavy snow, there was debate about cancelling the game altogether, which was the Big Ten Championship. Ironically, despite the fact that Ohio State would’ve gone on to the Rose Bowl had the game been cancelled (Michigan did not want to reschedule), it was Ohio State’s athletic director who ultimately refused to cancel the game, much to the rest of the staff’s disappointment. Perhaps after the fact, considering Ohio State lost 9-3, that decision was regretted, especially in front of the more than 50,000 die-hard fans that managed to show up for the game.

Columbus would receive 7.5″ at the airport, with eastern suburbs getting up to 10″, just on that Saturday alone.

Due to the blocking high pressure, the storm didn’t budge for days, and it continued through the 26th and 27th before slowly dying out. The last accumulating snowflakes from this system fell on the 29th, 6 days after the snow began.

Sunday, November 26th, 1950 National Map

Monday, November 27th, 1950 National Map

Tuesday, November 28th, 1950 National Map

Wednesday, November 29th, 1950 National Map

All in all, the storm was a record-breaker. Snow totals reached 10″ or more across most of the state except the far northwest and far southwest. In Central Ohio, snow had piled up between 10″-20″, with Columbus officially reporting 15.2″ for the duration of the event. This was the second-heaviest snowstorm in Columbus on record to that time, falling just shy of the 15.3″ that occurred February 17-18, 1910. Both of these storms would be surpassed by the February 14-17, 2003 snowstorm of 15.5″, which itself was surpassed by March 7-8th, 2008’s 20.5″.

Other totals in the state included up to 22″ in Cleveland, 27″ in Marietta, and reports of 44″ in Steubenville in far eastern Ohio. Totals of 25″-30″ were common throughout the eastern 1/3rd of the state. These totals are some of the highest the state has ever seen, coming close to those seen in the eastern Ohio snowstorm of April 1901.

In addition to the snow, record cold temperatures in Columbus of 5 degrees on the 25th (along with a record low maximum of 20) made this one of the greatest early winter events of all time.

Cleveland after the storm.

For more November weather records, go here: November Weather