2018-08-08

Author: Mary Knapp

Summer snow? A listener asked if snow has been recording in Kansas in July or August. That gets REALLY tricky, as snow is recorded in the same column as other frozen precipitation. So a quick review of the data sets DOES show snow in Kansas during July and August. A closer examination of the records confirm that the frozen precipitation actually was hail. In many cases, that hail was noted in the observer comments, which aren’t as easily accessed. In other cases, the temperature reports eliminate the possibility of snow. While accumulating snow can occur when temperatures are above freezing, it doesn’t happen when the highs are in the 80s and 90s and lows are in the 60s and 70s!

Figure 1. Hail Drift (National Weather Service)

Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu