April Snow Not That Unusual

One of the mildest winters in memory followed by 6-straight days of record high temperatures in March and now heavy snow in April.  Some areas to the south of Buffalo could see 5 to 9 inches today.  It’s been one weird year for weather in Western New York.

Clay learned of an April snowstorm in Buffalo in 1901 that brought about 8 inches of snow and killed a milk deliveryman’s horse.

Whenever snow and the city of Buffalo are mentioned in the same breath most Buffalonians old enough to remember will recall the Blizzard of ’77 – the worst storm to hit this city – certainly in terms of deaths.  In terms of snowfall that winter holds the Buffalo record with 199 inches of snow.

Even though heavy snow in April is unusual, it’s not unheard of.  Just last week, southern California in the mountains east of San Diego and Los Angeles had snow – up to a foot of snow in the higher elevations.
Strong winds created whiteout conditions.

Flagstaff, Arizona and areas north of Tucson, Arizona got hit with snow last week.

30 inches of snow fell in parts of North Dakota in late April, 1967 leaving 4 to 5 foot drifts.

Princeton, Massachusetts was buried under 25 inches of snow on April 29^th, 1987.

Rochester, Minnesota set an April record with 13.7 inches of snow on April 26^th, 1988.

Amarillo, Texas got 6 and a half inches of snow on April 25^th, 1997.

Would you believe Atlanta, Georgia got an inch and an half of snow on April 25^th, 1920?

Up to two feet of heavy, wet snow fell in the New York Catskills and the Pennsylvania Poconos on April 23^rd, 1986 tying up traffic across both states.

Denver got pounded with 23 inches of snow in April, 1885 – that city’s greatest single snowfall in 24 hours.  Roofs caved in, telephone and power lines were knocked down, streets and railroads were blocked.

Buffalo is not the only place that sees snow in April.