Jonathan Erdman and Chris Dolce
We saw as many as six named winter storms from March 8 through the rest of spring in 2018, and as few as two for that same time period in 2015.
These storms haven't all occurred in March.
April has averaged about one to two additional named winter storms per year. May has even had a single named winter storm in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Of course, lighter nuisance snowfall events can bring the season's final measurable snow (at least 0.1 inches) deep into spring for many northern U.S. cities.
We scoured National Weather Service records to compile both the average date of the final measurable snow of the spring and also the date of the latest spring accumulating snow on record. In some locations, that record-latest date was in the summer.
The colors of each dot correspond to the month of the season's average last measurable snow.The map above indicates the average month each location can usually put away the shovel or snowblower for the season.
In the Northeast, areas closer to the coast usually see the last snowfall of the season during March. For areas farther north and inland, the last snowfall typically takes place in April.
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New York City and Philadelphia are nearing the date of their average last accumulating snow.
In 2020, New York City had a trace of snow on May 9, which tied the city's record for the latest in the season that snowflakes have been observed. The record-latest measurable spring snow (0.1 inches or greater) in New York City remains April 29, 1874.
| Average Last Snowfall | Latest Snowfall of the Season | |
| Caribou, Maine | April 25 | May 25, 1974 |
| Burlington, Vermont | April 12 | May 12, 1996 |
| Boston | March 27 | May 10, 1977 |
| New York City | March 16 | April 29, 1874 |
| Syracuse, New York | April 10 | May 17, 1973 |
| Buffalo, New York | April 10 | May 20, 1907 |
| Pittsburgh | April 6 | May 9, 1966 |
| Philadelphia | March 16 | April 27, 1967 |
| Baltimore | March 8 | April 13, 1957 |
| Charleston, West Virginia | March 28 | May 7, 1989 |
Areas across the Northern Plains into the upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes typically experience the last snowfall of the season in April, while areas farther south usually say goodbye to additional snowfall in March.
Cleveland and Detroit both set new records for their latest measurable snow during an early-May cold snap last year.
| Average Last Snowfall | Latest Snowfall of the Season | |
| Cleveland | April 7 | May 11, 2020 |
| Detroit | April 4 | May 10, 2020 |
| Louisville, Kentucky | March 12 | May 6, 1898 |
| Indianapolis | March 19 | May 9, 1923 |
| St. Louis | March 17 | May 2, 1929 |
| Kansas City | March 16 | May 3, 1907 |
| Chicago | March 31 | May 11, 1966 |
| Minneapolis | April 9 | May 24, 1925 |
| Fargo, North Dakota | April 8 | May 21, 1963 |
| Rapid City, South Dakota | April 23 | June 13, 1969 |
| Omaha, Nebraska | March 28 | May 9, 1945 |
| Amarillo, Texas | March 25 | May 4, 1935 |
In the West, many locations wait until May or later to see the last snowfall of the season. One location not listed in the table below, Mount Rainier, Washington, has its average last snowfall on July 13.
| Average Last Snowfall | Latest Snowfall of the Season | |
| Crater Lake Nat'l Park, Oregon | June 12 | July 10, 1974 |
| Tahoe City, California | May 7 | June 16, 1995 |
| Flagstaff, Arizona | April 22 | June 8, 1907 |
| Salt Lake City | April 17 | June 6, 1914 |
| Boise, Idaho | March 17 | May 26, 1922 |
| Missoula, Montana | April 20 | June 11, 2008 |
| Yellowstone Lake, Montana | May 30 | July 3, 1983 |
| Billings, Montana | April 29 | June 8, 1950 |
| Cheyenne, Wyoming | May 15 | June 12, 1947 |
| Denver | April 27 | June 2, 1951 |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | March 21 | May 4, 1935 |
Alaska is not shown on the map at the top. Dates for average last snowfall there range from March 31 in Juneau to June 21 in Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow).
Footnotes:
- We only plotted cities and locations where the average last measurable snow of the season occurs in March or later. As a result, Washington D.C. was among cities not plotted (its average date of last snow of the season is Feb. 24).
- Since accumulating graupel or hail is also officially classified as snow in daily and monthly climate reports, we made every effort to quality check each "latest snow" record, removing those dates when temperatures were clearly too warm for snow, on which hail likely fell instead.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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