When could Wichita get its first snow of the season? Take a look at previous records
The leaves are changing for the autumn season and temperatures have begun to drop around Wichita in recent days.
After a summer of record-setting heat, Wichita experienced cooler temperatures this week, with lows in the 20s. While the area is expected to warm up this weekend into early next week, with highs above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service, the temperatures look more like fall than summer.
While you might be happy for autumn weather, it could be just one month until the first snow of the season, according to the NWS.
Agency data from 1991 to 2020 show the average first measurable snow of the season in Wichita falls Dec. 3, while the average last snow usually happens around March 4.
The earliest recorded during that time frame was Oct. 14, 2018, while the latest recorded was April 23, 2013.
When was the first snowfall last winter?
Last winter in Wichita, the first snowfall was reported Nov. 5, according to NWS forecaster Eric Metzger. The first measurable snowfall, however, was reported Nov. 14. Measurable indicates the accumulation is more than a tenth of an inch.
“We report snowfall anytime we see frozen precipitation hitting the ground, that could be of course snowflakes, sleet and also hail, that also counts as snowfall,” Metzger said.
The last measurable snowfall of the previous season was reported Jan. 25, while the last snowfall was March 25. Last winter Wichita saw about 5 inches of snow total, Metzger said.
While it’s hard to predict how this winter will turn out, Metzger said El Niño could mean more precipitation for south-central Kansas.
“One of the snowiest [winters] I ever remember when I was growing up in Kansas was the winter of 87 and 88, and that was a strong El Niño and it was a snowy year,” Metzger said. “That’s just something to keep in mind in general. From what I seen, it’s more of a precipitation tendency.”
El Niño is a weather pattern that happens when warm water moves east toward the west coast of the Americas, which causes the Pacific jet stream to move south due to the warmer waters.
