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B-N Sees Worst October Snow In 90 Years

snow on clock tower at Illinois State University
Eric Stock
/
WGLT
The three inches of snow Bloomington-Normal received Thursday was its highest October snowfall since 1929.

It's been 90 years since Bloomington-Normal saw so much snow in October.
The Twin Cities officially measured 3.2 inches of snow on Thursday, making it the fourth-snowiest October weather event in Bloomington-Normal history, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas in western Illinois received as much as 5 inches of snow. 

“Just to have measurable snow, more than just a few flurries–it’s only the 10th time it’s happened since the late 1800's, so this is an extremely rare thing to get measurable snow in Central Illinois in October,” said Chris Miller, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

Bloomington-Normal hadn't experienced measurable snow in October in 30 years when it received 1.5 inches in 1989.

Miller said long-range climate models project Central Illinois will have another unseasonably cold and snowy winter.

“We do see signs that this winter could be quite similar to last year where it was pretty cold and snowy, particularly as we get into January and February.”

Miller said jet streams indicate they will be moving in a southeasterly direction, which will likely bring colder and snowier air from the northwest. He added the atmosphere is nearing the end of a 10-to-12-year cycle in reduced sun spots, which typically leads to colder temperatures.

“Years when we have few or no sun spots, these eruptions that occur on the surface of the sun, it correlates pretty well with our weather, especially in the winter,” Miller explained. “We tend to see colder and snowier winters when that’s happening and right now we are in one of the minimums for that.

“So that’s another thing kind of tipping the scales that way.”

Miller also warned of another consequence of early season snow, drivers often unprepared to handle the elements.

“People have got to adjust their driving habits when we get more of this,” he said. “We see way too many people driving around not cleaning off their windows, not taking the snow off their lights so people can hardly see if somebody else is coming. It just produces more of a problem for traffic accidents.”

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Eric Stock is the News Director at WGLT. You can contact Eric at ejstoc1@ilstu.edu.
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