The sun is shining today, but two years ago it was a different story. People throughout the area woke up to see a beautiful, but rather unwelcome snowfall blanket the trees, grass and roads. We tend to think that by the end of April spring and warm weather should be the norm, but Minnesota weather doesn't always agree.

I reached out to meteorologist Laura Lockwood with the Weather Eye Radio Network about this and she said it's not at all uncommon to see snow into April. According to records, the average snowfall for April (calculated using data from 1981-2010) is 2.5 inches. The last day of snow on record was May 28, 1965, with trace amounts present, but the last day with at least 1 inch of snow or more is May 20, 1892, with 3 inches of snow recorded!

In 2013, we saw snow several times in April. On April 17, it started to snow and on April 18 6.4 inches of snow was reported on the ground, and another 0.9 inches fell the next day. April 22 brought another 3.5 inches of snow, with 0.3 inches falling on April 23, and trace amounts on April 25. I thought I remembered also getting some snow on May 3 that year, which Lockwood was able to confirm for me.

I asked Lockwood If she predicted that we would receive any more snow this spring and she replied, "There are a few more systems that will be coming through that bring cooler temperatures with them, that could produce some light snow for us yet this season. For example, the one tonight into Saturday, we could see some snow, but nothing should accumulate with this one." So the good news is that even if we do see a few white flakes in the air, they are unlikely to stick around. The average high for this time of year is 62 degrees with lows dropping to 41, but Lockwood told me that the record low is a chilly 19 degrees, and 86 degrees holds the record for the warmest day.

I guess anything is possible with Minnesota weather!

Kelly Krage/ Townsquare Media
Kelly Krage/ Townsquare Media
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This picture is from exactly two years ago, April 23, 2013. I took this in Faribault in the morning before heading to work. A huge thanks to Laura Lockwood for all of her help!

 

 

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