Traces of snow fall in Toledo area

4/19/2011

Yes, that was a brief burst of snow that fell across Toledo Monday morning, but no, it wasn't enough to add to the official snowfall total for the season at Toledo Express Airport. Nor is April snow as unusual as most probably would like.

The National Weather Service reported just a "trace" of snow at the airport, which is Toledo's official reporting station. Sleet also fell in the city Monday but did not accumulate.

One didn't have to go very far north, however, to find accumulating snow Monday. Detroit and Flint both reported 1.6 inches; for Detroit, that was a record for April 18.

Although rare, late-April snow is not unheard of in these parts.

Just six years ago, Toledo got 4 inches on April 24, enough to leave a carpet of white to contrast with fresh spring green in the trees for more than a day.

The trace of snow reported Monday was Toledo's first official snowfall of any kind this month. In a normal April, 1.3 inches of snow would have fallen by the 18th.

Aprils without any snow are rarer here than those with at least a little. Only 11 times since record-keeping began in 1873 has Toledo had a snow-free April, according to the National Weather Service office in Cleveland.

There have even been five Mays with measurable snowfall in Toledo, the most recent in 1989.

For the season, Toledo's snowfall total remained at 49.7 inches, 2.2 inches shy of making it to the Top 10 snowiest winters. February, with a record 25.3 inches, accounts for more than half the season total.

More snow mixed with rain and sleet was expected overnight in southeast Michigan, but forecasters expected Toledo to stay just warm enough for the precipitation to be all rain.