Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
32 dead, 27 girls at camp missing after catastrophic flooding in Texas. Read the latest Chevron right
Tropical Storm Chantal forms in Atlantic before landfall in South Carolina. Get details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

91°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

91°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
Air Quality Alert

Weather Blogs / WeatherMatrix

Are You There Snow? It's Me, Jesse

By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor

Published Feb 27, 2012 10:44 AM EDT | Updated Feb 27, 2012 1:49 PM EDT

Copied

The buzz around my stepdaughter's school this winter here in Central Pennsylvania has been the lack of snow (and snow days -- not a single one). For her 3rd grade science project, we decided to compare the local snowfall so far this winter (Oct. 1 - Jan. 31), with temperatures and snow days. The State College Area School District was unable to provide the snow day stats in time, so we just looked at the weather for the last 10 winters.

322159_s

What we found, as you can see from the graphs below, was that it was unusually warm and snow-less this year in State College, but it's far from unprecedented -- the 2006-2007 season had less snow and was warmer through Jan. 31! People have short memories. The other correlation we made was that warmer temperatures (compared to normal) led to less snowfall (not surprising to me, but a good use of the scientific method). Presumably, there would have been a correlation between more snow and more snow days as well.

graphs227s

Below is the project, in her words:

Introduction: Question: Why haven’t we had any snow days this season? Is this winter unusual? People keep asking "Where’s the snow? Is this winter normal for State College?" So I decided to look at recent years of weather of the season of State College from 2002-2012.

Methodology : I collected monthly snowfall and temperature for Penn State, from AccuWeather.com to find out about the winters between 2002-2012. I entered this data into EXCEL. Because this winter is not over, I could only look at October through February. Then I compared the data using bar graphs.

Conclusion: From the data collected I determined that there was less snow this season than seven out of ten winters that I looked at, but more than 2004-2005 and 2006- 2007. This season was also the 2nd warmest but 2006-2007 was warmer. In conclusion, this winter was not the least snowy in the last 10 years. Also, warmer years usually mean less snow.

Updating the data and graphs for the October - February period (because what good Dad wouldn't), now we're seeing something more impressive -- the continued lack of snow has put 2011-2012 in the #1 spot (by a hair) for least snowy winter, and (by far) the warmest winter in the last ten.

graphs227bs

But for Penn State's extensive weather record, this winter is not as impressive. They say that the record least snow for a Cold Season (July-June) was 1979-1980 with 17.9 inches, and we already have 19 inches this year, placing us in 98th place (out of 117 - higher numbers meaning less snow). So we'll probably have to get no snow for the rest of the season be in the top 10 least snowy years.

How likely is that? I didn't have stats from Penn State for the entire record, but for the last 10 years, it's statistically possible. It happened in 2009 and nearly in 2010 (only 0.8"), but interestingly enough, in the minimum winter snow season 2006-2007, another 17.1" fell after March 1st -- the most of any year examined, and nearly half the seasonal total.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

32 dead in Texas, 27 girls at Camp Mystic missing in flooding

Jul. 5, 2025
video

Rescuers save person clinging to an electric pole amid Texas floods

Jul. 4, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

ABOUT THIS BLOG
WeatherMatrix
Jesse Ferrell
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager Jesse Ferrell covers extreme weather and the intersection of meteorology and social media.
  • Astronomy
    with Dave Samuhel
  • Canadian weather
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global climate change
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global weather
    with Jason Nicholls
  • Northeast US weather
    with Elliot Abrams
  • Plume Labs on Air Quality
    with Tyler Knowlton
  • RealImpact of weather
    with Dr. Joel N. Myers
  • WeatherMatrix
    with Jesse Ferrell
  • Western US weather
    with Brian Thompson

Featured Stories

Weather News

Wildfires are tearing through a popular tourist hotspot in Greece

1 day ago

Weather News

‘Shark Whisperer’ swims its way into our shark obsession

23 hours ago

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

4 days ago

Weather News

What makes fireworks burst with vibrant colors?

23 hours ago

Health

There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, new research shows

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather Blogs Are You There Snow? It's Me, Jesse
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...