Hello Folks:
Wintry precipitation: Snowfall, freezing rain/ice storm, sleet (frozen raindrops), can happen each winter in my town & area, but despite my town's elevation (1,177FT/358.8M ASL as per the USGS marker in Janssen Park), our proximity to fairly tall mountains & my town's latitude (34.5 degrees N.), accumulating snowfall here is really hit-or-miss. When we do get snow, often the yearly total is just from 1 or 2 snow events. We actually have a fairly good chance of seeing (sometimes devastating) freezing rain/ice storm events instead. Whatever snow that does fall, doesn't remain on the ground for too long. The last few years/Winters (2016-2019) have seen very paltry & disappointing snow amounts here.
Here's the best weather-scenario for my area to see accumulating/lying snowfall: With cold air (snow can start to fall at around 36F/2.2C, but for "sticking" snow, the temperature needs to be 32F/0C or a bit below) in place over my area; a "Southerly-tracking Low" (Pacific cold front, whose vortex comes ashore in extreme S coastal California), comes ashore & (the vortex) tracks ENE, through central parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and central (or better yet, southern) parts of Arkansas. My area will get more snow (around the counter-clockwise rotation of the vortex) depending on how far southward (and at what speed) the vortex passes to the south of my area.
Even with some "Southerly-Tracking Lows", the vortexes will pass over, or just to the N of my area & we will get a cold rain instead (sometimes the "snow line" is only a few hundred feet above the elevation of Mena & Rich Mountain to our N will get a good snowdump--a few years ago, Mena had a cold rain & parts of the nearby mountain had as much at 10"/25.4CM of snow). Also, if the factors are just right, freezing rain will fall. A few years ago, we were having rain (not freezing) with thunder & lightning & a temperature of near 32F/0C. Sleet (frozen raindrops) can also fall in my area; but it's usually very light & doesn't happen here that often.
Most often, the vortexes of Low-pressure pass well to our north, so my area only gets rain.
Here are some official Snow-numbers for Mena:
*Most Snow In A Day: 15"/38.1CM--Jan. 29, 1899
*Most Snow In A Month: 17.6"/44.7CM on 5 snowdays in Feb. 1979
*Most Snow In A Year: 27"/68.5CM on 5 snowdays in 1892
*Least Snow In A Year: NONE in 1896, 1923 & 1950 (a TRACE of snow [snow flurries] were recorded on a various number of days for the years of 1911, 1927, 1928, 1935, 1938, 1955, 1959, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2016 & 2018)
*Earliest Snowfall: Flurries on Oct. 29, 1993
*Earliest Accumulating Snowfall: 9"/22.8CM on Nov. 10, 1892
*Latest Snowfall: Flurries on April 9, 1973
*Latest Accumulating Snowfall: 2.5"/6.3CM on Mar. 31, 1926
The only "dry" snow event I've experienced here was when 13"/33.0CM of dry powdery snow fell in Mena on Jan. 5-6, 1988. The strong N/NW wind scoured the snow away from the house for a few inches and then it piled up. There was a 3FT snowdrift in my backyard--quite unusual here, as we usually only get "wet" snow, which doesn't blow into drifts.
According to the NWS, the definition of a "White Christmas" is that there has to be at least 1"/2.5CM of snow on the ground (no snow needs to be falling on that day) on December 25th. (Here in the NH, Christmas Day is less than a week into the Official start/solstice of the Winter season). Mena had a "White Christmas" in 1975 & did not have another "White Christmas" until December 25th in 2012. Mena did have an "Icy Christmas" in 2000. The back-to-back ice storms in December (12th & 25th--the latter one was much worse) 2000 was the costliest natural disaster in Arkansas' history; the damage figures put at $US547 MILLION statewide. It was sickening to hear trees (large hardwoods as well as pines) breaking under the weight of the ice. Mena was without power for 4 days (some rural places were without power for nearly 2 weeks); over 1,500 large dumptruck loads of tree debris was removed from Mena. Power crews from as far away as Georgia came to Arkansas to help restore power, in slippery, remote & brutally cold conditions.
