COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — It is hard to think about the first snowfall of the year when temps have remained more than a dozen degrees above normal recently. In fact, the last below-normal day was during the final week of October, more than three weeks ago! But there is a wild pattern shift set to get underway this week, which will shift temps from almost 15 degrees above normal to nearly 15 degrees below normal later this week.
In addition to this big temperature swing, we are going to see quite a windy mid-late week pattern as well, adding to the cold feel that we will be dealing with.
When do we typically see our first snow in Columbus?
Official record-keeping for the first “measurable” snowfall goes to 1931 for the city. For this criterion, measurable counts as anything that is 0.1″ (one-tenth of an inch) or more of snowfall. This would not count our first flakes of snow, like what we had on Halloween 2023 when some flurries fell but there was no measurable snowfall on the ground. This was counted as a “trace” of snow.