The third day of a brutal snap of wintry weather – in May – is shattering records in the central U.S. After the biggest snows ever observed in the month of May in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Thursday, Arkansas experienced its first May snowflakes in history today.
For the first time in AR history, snow has fallen in May. So far, sleet/snow reported at Highfill, Fayetteville, and Rogers airports. #arwx
— NWS Little Rock (@NWSLittleRock) May 3, 2013
Northwest Arkansas wasn’t the only location experiencing a historic snowfall. Kansas City experienced its
and as much as 6 inches fell in Missouri. Thursday afternoon’s Royals home game was called off due to a wintry mix of precipitation that changed to snow in the evening.
And here's what Kauffman Stadium in KC looks like at 7:30, after #Rays and #Royals were gone and snow kept falling pic.twitter.com/B11XAMjWX4
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 3, 2013
Here are some other notable snowfall records from the central U.S. from Thursday and today:
* Tulsa, Oklahoma experienced its latest spring snow on record
* Rochester, Minnesota’s 14.0 inches of snow Thursday was more than 3 times the combined total of all May snow (4.3 inches) since 1886 and its 4th snowiest day on record in any month.
* Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s 8.7 inches and Des Moines Iowa’s 3.4 inches Thursday were the greatest May snow totals on record for those cities.
Razorback Stadium this morning. pic.twitter.com/Vhm8oGSyYE
— Brian Pracht (@BrianPracht) May 3, 2013
The cold, some 30-40 degrees below normal in some locations, has also been impressive. A few stats:
* Dallas, Texas dropped to 39 this morning, its coldest temperature on record so late in the season.
* In Little Rock, Arkansas, the temperature fell to 40 degrees, tying its lowest May reading ever recorded.
* Galveston (50), Lubbock, (27) and Midland, Texas (33) set all-time record May lows this morning.
* Yesterday’s high of 41 on Kansas City was its coldest May day on record
* Pierre, South Dakota dropped to 21 this morning, setting a new all-time May low
Record-cold airmass for the month of May diving deep into Texas this morning (7:15 am EDT) pic.twitter.com/AmnhfBoBP3
— Johnny Kelly (@stormchaser4850) May 3, 2013
The snow is forecast to taper off today in the region says the National Weather Service, which called the May storm “unprecedented”.
However, many areas may still experience a record cold Friday afternoon and night.
Writes the National Weather Service in Little Rock:
[THERE ARE] MANY LOCATIONS THAT COULD SEE RECORD COLD HIGH TEMPERATURES…ESPECIALLY ALL-TIME RECORDS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY.
And the National Weather Service in Kansas City says:
Well forecast high temperatures for Friday May 3rd are only in the 30s. This will again break the monthly record for Kansas City.
Houston, Texas, after tying a daily record low of 47 this morning this afternoon, could challenge its coldest May temperature on record tonight of 44.
When will normal to above normal temperatures finally return to the central U.S.? Probably not until early-to-mid next week.