There’s a snowstorm in the forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which is unusually late snowfall for mid-April.
The storm won’t reach Columbus until after midnight. NBC 4 Meteorologist Ben Gelber said it shouldn’t accumilate too high in Central Ohio.
“I would expect a coating to an inch along and east of the I-71 corridor in Central Ohio,” Gelber said. “There could be variation because urban areas hold a little more heat from the day, so we might see less in the heart of Columbus.”
Gelber says the Cleveland area could get two to four inches of snow.
“As you go farther north and west though,” Gelber said snow accumulation will increase. “Marysville, Delaware, and out towards Springfield maybe one to two inches. And there will be a stripe of heavier snow, partly due to elevation, and closer to the optimal track of the storm, from Bellefontaine to Marion.”
He says as Midwestern winters grow milder, there has been a tendency towards cold blasts in the spring. Even so, snow after April 20 is rare.
“While it’s relatively rare to see accumulating snow after April 20 in Columbus, it’s happened about a half dozen times,” Gelber said. “In fact the record snowfall for April 21st, Wednesday is two inches in 1901.”
In 2005, 3.2 inchs of snow fell on April 23 and 24 in Columbus, Gelber says.
“And that’s why we say don’t plant the delicate flowers, perennials and some vegetables, until after Mother’s Day,” Gelber says.
