On the heals of a December where temperatures averaged about five degrees above normal and where only two tenths of an inch of snow fell, January has started off even warmer and with even less snow. The first 15 days of the month produced high temperatures that averaged more than 15 degrees above average! In addition to the warm temps, January has already brought more than 3 inches of rain and no measurable snowfall.

Officially, the measly two tenths of an inch (0.2”) of snow that we picked up in December is the total so far for this winter season. Considering that Louisville averages about 15 inches a season and that the season is already half over, we are way below normal in this category. If we don’t get some snow soon, we are in danger of breaking the all-time record for least snowfall in a season. That mark was set during the very warm 1988-1989 winter season when Louisville only saw 9 tenths of an inch (0.9”) of snow. Heck, that’s almost five times the amount we’ve seen so far this winter!

Now before you snow lovers get caught up in a tizzy, understand that a lot can happen between now and May. In fact, the greatest snowfall on record occurred during the month of February. Between the dates of February 4th and the 6th in 1998, Louisville saw nearly two feet of the white stuff! 22.4 inches to be exact, which is exactly 112 times more than we have seen so far this season!

Should we escape the rest of January and February without a significant snow there is still some hope as we head into the last month or two of the cold season. On March 23rd 1968, 11 inches of snow fell on the city which was good for the most snow ever from a storm during the month of March. More recently, on March 31st of 1987, the Louisville area picked up between 6 and 9 inches of some heavy, wet snow.

Now the end of March is certainly late the season for significant snow. However, believe it or not, but way back in 1898, 10 inches of snow fell in Louisville on May 6th. That’s right, just two days after Plaudit won the 23rd Kentucky Derby, 10 inches of snow fell on Kentuckiana!

Now I’m not predicting a May snow this year, but there is still plenty of winter left. Climatologically, this is the coldest part of the year and the recent cold snap is a result of a large scale weather pattern change that is now occurring across the United States. The upper level ridge that was responsible for the near record temperatures recently over the Eastern U.S. has dissipated and a persistent trough appears to be taking its place. This will translate to more cold weather over the next couple of weeks. And where there is cold, there will be at least a chance of snow. Stay tuned.