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When will it snow in Ohio? The NWS story gives us a clue, see winter forecast

Posted on by Kennedy
When will it snow in Ohio? The NWS story gives us a clue, see winter forecast

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Get your shovels and brooms ready and prepare the heavy equipment. Winter is approaching and with it comes the white stuff as part of the winter forecast.

When will Ohio see its first snow? That's what National Weather Service records tell us.

When does it start snowing in Ohio? If Cincinnati and Columbus could use the shovels

NWS records give us an indication of when we can expect snow in the Buckeye State.

In Cincinnatiwhere the NWS has records dating back to 1893, the average date of the first measurable snowfall (defined as one-tenth of an inch or more) is November 29 (using data from 1981 to 2010), according to the NWS Wilmington office. On average, the first snow of at least an inch falls on December 15th.

But we all know that Ohio's weather is fickle and winter can come early or late depending on the year. According to the NWS, the earliest measurable snowfall in Cincinnati occurred on October 19, 1989, when 5 inches fell. The winter of 1982/83, on the other hand, was rather reserved. The first measurable snow of the season fell on January 12, 1983 (one-tenth of an inch), making that date the last first snow on record.

In ColumbusAccording to NWS records (which date back to 1885 for this city), winter snow tends to fall a little earlier. According to the NWS office in Wilmington, the first measurable snow in Ohio's capital falls on average on November 20th, with an inch or more of snow starting on December 12th. The earliest measurable snow came on October 10, 1906, when one-tenth of an inch fell. And last season's snow came when an inch fell on January 10, 2016.

Head a little further north to Akron Canton area, and winter comes even earlier. The first measurable snowfall usually arrives on November 9th, according to a tweet from NWS Cleveland on December 25th, 2001.

What is the NOAA forecast for Ohio this winter?

According to the NOAA US Winter Outlook recently released by the Climate Prediction Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sees a slowly developing La Niña, bringing the chance for warmer and wetter than normal conditions in the Buckeye State this winter.

La Niña is forecast to ease or end drought in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley regions. According to NOAA's map, most of the state has a 33% to 40% chance of experiencing above-average precipitation from December to February. NOAA gives northwest Ohio a better chance of a wetter winter, putting the chance at 40 to 50 percent.

NOAA estimates Ohio has a 33% to 40% chance of a warmer than average winter, according to the agency's temperature map. NOAA is forecasting warmer-than-average temperatures from the southern part of the U.S. to the eastern Great Lakes, the East Coast and New England.

During a La Niña (which means “little girl” in Spanish), unusually strong trade winds push more warm water than usual in the Pacific toward Asia, according to NOAA. This causes cold water to surface off the coast of America, which in turn pushes the jet stream north. This movement tends to result in drought in the southern United States and heavy rainfall and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

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