Extreme Winter Storms That Struck in Spring

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 in May. 

This week we are tracking Winter Storm Selene, which is delivering a long swath of snow from the Rockies into the Great Lakes.

During each of the last three springs we've had such extreme snowstorms. 

Recent Extreme Spring Snowstorms: Achilles, Xenia and Venus

During the first week of May 2013, Winter Storm Achilles delivered historic amounts of snow in 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 5 inches was measured near Decatur.

Winter Storm Xenia (2014)

Xenia produced whiteout conditions across large swaths of North Dakota, South Dakota and northeast Wyoming on the final day of March 2014.

Visibility was reduced to 10 feet in parts of North Dakota. Snow drifts of 5-6 feet were observed in Roseau, Minnesota. Winds gusted to 64 mph at the Rapid City, South Dakota airport, and up to 58 mph near Oakes, North Dakota.

Whiteout conditions prompted a shut down of Interstate 29 from Brookings, South Dakota, to the Canadian border, and Interstate 94 from Fargo to Bismarck, North Dakota.

Winter Storm Venus (2015)

Venus first brought snow to California's Sierra Nevada and the mountains of Southern California May 6-8, 2015. Palomar Mountain in San Diego County saw 2 inches of snow May 8. The National Weather Service in San Diego said that the last time it snowed there in May was 1998.

Snow then spread through the Rockies and into the High Plains May 8-11. 

In Rapid City, South Dakota, 13.6 inches was measured at the National Weather Service Office. Venus was the heaviest snowstorm so late in the season and the second heaviest May snowstorm overall, there. In the Black Hills to the west of Rapid City, 19 inches was reported in the town of Lead.

Here are four more examples of extreme spring winter storms from past history.

April 2006: 6 Feet of Snow in the Black Hills

Snow in Lead, South Dakota 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 18-20, 2006, Lead saw an astonishing amount of snow even for its 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 April 18-19.

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

May 1992: 60 Inches in the South

From May 7-9, 1992, the Smoky 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.

Illustrating the role elevation played in this event is the fact that Asheville, North Carolina, which is about an hour 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 7-8.

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

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

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.

April Fool's Day Blizzard 1997

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-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, Massachusetts, saw its heaviest snowstorm on record dating back to 1892 with 33 inches. To the south, Providence, Rhode Island picked up 18 inches.

A few spots, including East Jewitt, New York, and Milford, Massachusetts, 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.

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