Winter Storm Xylia May Become Eighth Storm Since September To Smash Significant Snow Records

 Jonathan Erdman

Published: March 12, 2021

Winter Storm Xylia could become the eighth storm since September to shatter major snowfall records in what has otherwise been a mild winter season overall in most of the United States.

The latest winter storm (pronounced ZEYE-lee-uh) could smash an all-time snowstorm record in Cheyenne, Wyoming (25.6 inches from Nov. 19-21, 1979), and possibly other locations in the High Plains.

(MORE: Latest Winter Storm Xylia Forecast)

That's impressive enough. But it's something we've seen over and over again over the past six months in parts of the country from New England to the upper Midwest to Texas to the West.

Since September, at least 25 locations have tied or set new all-time snow records for a month, a calendar day, a single snowstorm or a record early snowfall. Preliminary state record snowfalls have occurred in four states.

And this has happened despite the past winter ranking among the nation's top quarter of mildest winters since 1895.

Here's the rundown of the significant records from these seven winter storms, beginning while it was still officially summer.

September

Incredibly, this all began with an unnamed storm on Labor Day and continued into the following Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nine cities tied or set all-time earliest-in-season snowfall records from Sept. 7-9, 2020.

Among those cities were Cheyenne, Wyoming; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Las Vegas, New Mexico.

October

In late October, a pair of winter storms rewrote some monthly and early-in-season records in parts of the West, Plains and upper Midwest.

On Oct. 20, Winter Storm Abigail was the heaviest snowstorm so early in the fall in both Minneapolis-St. Paul (7.9 inches) and St. Cloud, Minnesota (7 inches). It was also an October record snowstorm in Eau Claire (6.9 inches) and Rhinelander (6.1 inches), Wisconsin.

Two days before that, Great Falls, Montana, had its snowiest October day on record (8.2 inches).

About a week after Abigail, Winter Storm Billy became the earliest ice storm on record in Oklahoma. Ice accumulation on trees that still hadn't lost their leaf cover knocked out power to over 400,000 customers in the Sooner State, some for over a week.

And just for good measure, Billy's snowfall also pushed both Great Falls, Montana, and Spokane, Washington, to new record October monthly snowfall.

December Gail

In mid-December, it was the Northeast's turn.

Winter Storm Gail was a record snowstorm in Binghamton, New York (40 inches), and Williamsport, Pennsylvania (24.7 inches).

In Concord, New Hampshire, Gail dumped 25.6 inches of snow on Dec. 17 alone, the city's all-time snowiest day. This record had stood since the infamous March 1888 blizzard that also clobbered New York City.

Another capital city, Albany, New York, had its snowiest December day on record (19.7 inches).

Gail may have also set all-time state 24-hour snowfall records in Pennsylvania (43.3 inches in Alba) and Vermont (44 inches near Ludlow). These measurements are yet to be confirmed by a State Climate Extremes Committee.

New Jersey State Record?

An expansive, cross-country winter storm from late January through early February saved its biggest punch for one Northeast state.

Winter Storm Orlena dumped over two feet of snow in parts of eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and southeastern New York.

An observer in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey, measured 35.5 inches of snow over three days during Orlena.

If this measurement is confirmed by a State Climate Extremes Committee, it would be a three-day snowfall record for New Jersey, topping the existing record of 34 inches in Dec. 1947.

My Snowy Valentine

While the snow that fell in Texas and parts of the South in back-to-back mid-February events paled in comparison to the miserable impacts from a record-smashing cold outbreak, a pair of winter storms did rewrite the record books in a number of cities.

Valentine's Day 2021 was the snowiest single day on record in both Abilene (9.8 inches) and San Angelo (10.1 inches), Texas, from the first of those storms, Winter Storm Uri.

Not directly related to the storm, heavy lake-effect snow in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that same weekend may have set a state record 24-hour snowfall, according to Alex Lamers, a meteorologist with NOAA. Again, that would have to be investigated and confirmed at a later date.

Texas Department of Transportation workers were working to keep roads clear in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, as Winter Storm Uri made roads icy. Above is a view of U.S. Highway 54 at the state border.

Southern Sequel

Right on the heels of Uri, Winter Storm Viola began its journey by wringing out the snowiest February day on record in Salt Lake City (11.7 inches) on Feb. 17.

Little Rock, Arkansas, was buried by 11.8 inches of snow from Viola, just two days after Uri dumped over 8 inches of snow. That drove the capital city to tie its all-time record snow depth, which had stood since 1918.

Perhaps the most incredible record was as Viola was exiting and a trailing band of heavy snow pounded parts of the Rio Grande Valley. Del Rio, Texas, picked up a whopping 11.2 inches of snow on Feb. 18, the city's snowiest day on record.

These back-to-back storms also pushed San Antonio to its record-snowiest February (6.2 inches).

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.