Does October Snow Tell Us Anything About The Upcoming Winter? Good Question
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Tuesday, the Twin Cities is expecting its first measurable snowfall for the season -- that's early. So, can the October snow tell us anything about the upcoming winter?
"Absolutely no," said Pete Boulay, assistant Minnesota State Climatologist. "What happens in October is not a prediction for what happens for the rest of winter."
The State Climatology Office crunched the numbers. Since 1884, there have been 45 Octobers with at least one day of measurable snow. The winters that followed them have spanned the spectrum from dry, to snowy, to warm, to cold, to average.
In 1991, October and November were the snowiest ever – 55". The winter that followed was one of the warmest ever and in the bottom half when it comes to snow.
The Twin Cities average 0.6 inches of snow in October. Over any given year, there is a one-in-three chance of seeing measurable snow in the Twin Cities. It's happens one of out of every two years in Duluth.
"In any given October, you'll have those warm spells," said Boulay. "Of course, the other shoe could drop which is happening this week, temperatures in the 30s."
The average date for the first one-inch snowfall in the Twin Cities is November 18.