April snow and cold snap in Ohio
An unusually cold airmass swept through much of the eastern U.S. between April 21-23, 2021 behind a slow-moving cold front. A low-pressure system, traveling along this front, brought a widespread swath of 3-6” of snow across northern and western portions of Ohio (Fig. 1). Many daily snowfall records fell, as snow events greater than 1” are rare after April 15th.
Perhaps more concerning was the threat of sub-freezing conditions statewide. According to NOAA, March 2021 was the 12th warmest March on record for Ohio (1895-present). This has led to accelerated growing degree day accumulation and increased susceptibility to late-season freeze conditions. Nearly statewide Freeze Warnings were in effect all three nights of this event. Temperatures dropped as low as the upper 20s across portions of west-central Ohio on the morning of April 21 (Fig. 1). Though it was forecast to be even colder for the morning of April 22, additional convective snow showers late on Tuesday provided leftover moisture at the surface; and combined with a few clouds, temperatures remained warmer than originally forecast. Still, lows dropped into the upper 20s for a couple of hours across the interior counties of the northwest, while much of the state remained in the 30-34°F range. Only the southeastern counties of the state dropped into the lower 30s during the morning of April 23. The cool pattern will remain through the weekend with a few showers, and frost is possible again on Monday morning. However, temperatures next week look to rebound nicely, with highs in the 65–85-degree range (north to south) and overnight lows in the 50s and 60s.
Figure 1: National snowfall analysis depicting estimated snowfall for the 24-hour period ending 4/21/2021, courtesy of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. Overnight low temperatures for April 21-23, 2021 from the RMTA-RU, courtesy of Pivotal Weather (https://home.pivotalweather.com).
Aaron B. Wilson wilson.1010@osu.edu
OSU Extension | State Climate Office of Ohio
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
The Ohio State University
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