Monday brings first snow

With snow falling in Greencastle and Putnam County Monday afternoon, the area recorded its first official measurable snowfall of the season.

Nov. 11 certainly seems early for the first snowfall of the season in the area, but it’s not the earliest case on record. That notoriety goes to Oct. 18, 1989 when a surprise, slushy mid-October snow hit central Indiana.

The Nov. 11 arrival is actually about a week earlier than normal. The National Weather Service at Indianapolis lists the average date of the first measurable snowfall locally as Nov. 19.

The sight of snow sticking to lawns, windshields and leaves still on trees gives us a chance to review some of the National Weather Service snowfall statistics. Recorded since 1948, they include:

-- Earliest date of first measurable snowfall: Oct. 18, 1989.

-- Average date of last measurable snowfall: March 30.

-- Latest date of last measurable snowfall: May 9, 1923.

-- Day of the year which has received the most snow since 1948: Feb. 25 with 40.8 inches.

-- Maximum snowfall in a calendar day: March 19, 1906 with 12.1 inches.

-- Day of the year with the greatest average snow depth: Jan. 31 with 1.7 inches on the ground.

Day(s) of the year with the most snow days with a trace or greater: Jan. 9, 15 and 30 with 29 days.

-- Maximum snowfall in 24 hours: 12.5 inches, Feb. 24-25, 1965.

-- Maximum snowfall in a single storm: 16.1 inches Feb. 16-17, 1910.

-- Maximum snowfall in one month: 30.6 inches January 1978.

-- Maximum snowfall in one season: 58.2 inches for winter 1981-82.

-- Maximum snowfall depth measured: 20 inches on Jan. 26-28, 1978.

That should help take some of the sting out of this first little inconvenient snowfall. Welcome to winter.