Despite recording snow well into Spring and beginning again in Fall, we ended up about 10″ short in 2011 compared with 2010 primarily due to the 25″ 2/6/2010 event known as Snowmaggedon. 2011′s largest snowfall was the 10″ Commutageddon Snowfall on 1/26/2011.
Both 2010 and 2011 featured 14 snow events measured at Old Dominion Wildlife Headquarters located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the border of Warren and Fauquier Counties. Note: Trace events were not recorded.
Calendar Year Snowfall Table
Cumulative Calendar Year Snowfall Chart
Trailcam Picture of April Snow in Virginia
With meteorological summer well underway and astronomical summer about to start, here are the spring snow statistics from Old Dominion Wildlife Headquarters:
2011 Spring Snow
See Also: No Joke: April 1st Snow in Virginia
Poll Results
On March 7th, I posted an online poll asking if Virginia would see any more accumulating snow this season. A slim majority of responders answered “No.”
Who was right?
While most of Virginia (including Old Dominion Wildlife HQ) has not experienced any more accumulating snow, NOAA’s snow analysis maps appear to show that portions of southwest Virginia did pick up some snow accumulations on March 23rd, 24th, and 27th.
A Look Ahead
Gorgeous, almost summery, conditions are expected this weekend and there is nothing showing up in the long-range (through 4/16) GFS models for snowlovers to get excited about. However, I will continue to hold off on publishing my final season snow totals for now. After all, there was the April 27-28, 1928 snowstorm.
We’ve had a warm and sunny beginning to Spring, but will we get some more snow this season? Old Dominion Wildlife and Weather readers are divided. Tomorrow (Monday 3/21/2010) will bring rain to most of the Virginias, although some mountains in West Virginia might pick up some some snow according the the National Weather Service HPC Snowfall Probability Forecasts. Weather forecasting models are not reliable far out into the future, but I think there is a system showing up on the GFS near the end of the month worth watching.
Just to get an idea of the realm of spring snow possibilities, check out this article about the snow storm of April 27-28, 1928:
One station in West Virginia reported 40 inches of snowfall, several reported 30 inches or more, and 20 inches or more covered nearly one-half of the State. The largest amounts reported in other States were as follows: 36 inches in Pennsylvania, 15.5 inches in Kentucky, 14 inches in Virginia, and 13 inches in North Carolina.
