How rare is April snow in Mid-Missouri?

Spring in Mid-Missouri has been hard to come by lately, as winter is hanging on as tight as it can. Thanks to several blasts of cold air, the month of March closed with temperatures below seasonal values. That trend is continuing into the month of April, with bitter cold and snow.

In the perfect April Fools’ Day setup, Mother Nature quickly took away the spring tease and ushered in a return to Old Man Winter. While parts of Mid-Missouri remained snow free, the northern half of the region saw plenty of snow Sunday. Columbia Regional Airport officially recorded .03″ of snow, which was nothing compared to the nearly 4 inches as you head north into parts of Macon county.

Snow in April? I mean we can’t be serious, but it did happen. That begs the question of just how rare is it to see snow in April. This requires some digging into the climatological records for Columbia. While temperature records are official dating back to 1850, snow records only date back to 1890. 127 years of snow data and out of those years, only 34 years have closed with April snowfall. That equates to a 27 percent chance that it will snow during the month of April. So while it’s not entirely rare, it is unusual to see measurable snowfall this late in the year. And the last time measurable snow fell at Columbia Regional Airport was back in the late ’90s, 20-plus years ago.

Thanks to pesky clouds and the cold pool of air, the snow continues to blanket the ground across Mid-Missouri. That won’t last long though, as temperatures are set to climb through the night thanks to a warm front. This will lead to not only a warmer night, but liquid precipitation which will rid the region of snow.

Looking for spring? It will likely be hard to come by through the first two weeks of April. The Climate Prediction Center notes that the Upper Midwest, Northern Plains, and parts of the south have a chance of seeing temperatures continue to remain below seasonal values. This will not only mean a delayed start to spring, but will likely also shorten our severe weather season here in Mid-Missouri.

Winter is hanging on by a thread and it’s doing a good job of not letting go.

Stay with ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather as we continue to monitor the changing weather pattern and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.