Winter Safety and Preparedness

Winter Storms in Spring: 5 Extreme Storms

(Thinkstock)

Extreme Snow in Late-March, April and May

As we all know, when the calendar officially flips to spring, wintry weather doesn't magically disappear from the weather maps each year. Sometimes the atmosphere continues to spawn extreme winter storms in late-March, April and even May.

Although this is by no means a full list, we have five examples of extreme spring winter storms starting in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Share with us your memories of extreme spring snow in the comments section on the last page of this article.

April 2006: Six Feet of Snow in the Black Hills

Snow drifts around buildings in the northern Black Hills after the April 18 to April 20, 2006 snowstorm.
(National Weather Service, Rapid City, South Dakota)

Snow in Lead, S.D. during March and April is nothing unusual. The city averages 35 inches and 34 inches of snow in March and April, respectively.

However, from April 18 to April 20, 2006, Lead saw an astonishing amount of snow even for their standards. The storm total for the three days was measured at 74 inches, or just over 6 feet. This included an April 24-hour record of 44.5 inches from April 18 to April 19.

Lead wasn't alone in this heavy spring snow event. Deadwood, S.D. saw 52.4 inches and Galena, S.D. picked up 50 inches.

Next: 60 inches in the South, in May?

May 1992: 60 Inches in the South

Weather map showing the low pressure system in the Southeast on May 8, 1992.
(NOAA)

From May 7 to May 9, 1992, the mountains of North Carolina were buried by a snowstorm that would be impressive even if it had occurred in the heart of the winter months.

The culprit was a cold, slowing-moving area of low pressure aloft that sent a persistent pipeline of moisture into the mountains of western North Carolina.

Mount Pisgah, at an elevation of 5,721 feet saw an amazing 60 inches, or five feet, of heavy, wet snow. Nearby Mount Mitchell at an elevation of 6,684 feet saw 30 inches.

Illustrating the role elevation played in this event is the fact that Asheville, N.C.,which is about an hour to the south of Mount Pisgah, and more than 3,500 feet lower in elevation, saw mainly rain. More than 3 inches of rain was measured in the city from May 7 to May 8.

Although the heavy snow was confined to the mountains, some snow did mix with rain as far south as Greer, S.C. It was the first time snow had ever been recorded during May in that location.

Next: Another late-March Southern Snowstorm

Late-March 1983: Half Foot of Spring Snow in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh

Map of snowfall in North Carolina from the March 1983 storm.
(NOAA)

Winter wasn't done in the Southeast just after the spring equinox in March 1983.

An area of low pressure moved over the region with temperatures just cold enough to produce heavy, wet snow in the region on March 24, 1983.

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 10.3 inches in Charlotte to 7.9 inches in Atlanta and 7.3 inches in Raleigh. In Atlanta and Charlotte, these snowfall totals were the highest for a single calendar day so late in the season.

Snow was also reported all the way to the coast of North Carolina. A storm total of 2.9 inches was measured in the southeast North Carolina coastal city of Wilmington.

In all of these cities, the amount of snowfall received during this late-March snowstorm was greater than the annual average snowfall.

Next: No April Fool's Joke

April Fool's Day Blizzard 1997

Satellite image of the April Fool's Day, 1997 blizzard.
(NOAA)

The forecast for a major snowstorm on April Fool's Day in 1997 was no joke.

Heavy snow buried locations from southern and central New England to the Catskills of New York and the Poconos of northeast Pennsylvania March 31 to April 1, 1997.

Boston saw 25.4 inches of snow in 24 hours, ranking as the fourth heaviest snowstorm on record in the city. The day before the storm, temperatures were in the 60s.

Farther west, Worcester, Mass. saw its heaviest snowstorm on record dating back to 1892 with 33 inches. To the south, Providence, R.I. saw 18 inches.

A few spots, including East Jewitt, N.Y. and Milford, Mass., had to dig out from storm totals of three feet!

The combination of the heavy, wet snow and strong winds caused major damage to trees and powerlines. More than 750,000 customers lost power.

Next: Two Unusual Spring Snows in May 2013

May 2013: Two Unusual Spring Snows

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A cow stands in a feedlot amid falling snow near Grimes, Iowa. (Image: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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A cow stands in a feedlot amid falling snow near Grimes, Iowa. (Image: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Above: Photos from Winter Storm Achilles in May 2013

No need to go far back in the record books for another example of extreme spring snow. May 2013 gave us two unusual snow events.

During the first week of May, Winter Storm Achilles delivered historic amounts of snow for the month of May from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin to Arkansas.

Minnesota recorded its biggest three-day May snowfall total in history with 17.3 inches in Ellendale. A total of 13 inches of snow was measured in Osage, Iowa, setting a new May snowstorm record for the Hawkeye State.

Prior to Achilles, no snow had ever been recorded in Arkansas during May. Up to five inches was measured near the town of Decatur.

The strange May wintry weather didn't stop there. During Memorial Day weekend, a rare late-May snowstorm struck the higher elevations of northern New York and northern New England. Locally more than 30 inches of snow was reported at Whiteface Mountain in New York.

Share your memory of an extreme spring snowstorm in the comments section below.