Winter makes brief return last week

With the 4.5 inches snow that fell last Wednesday, April has now seen 5.4 inches, 2.5 more than the average of 2.9. That snowfall put April 2013 in the top 10 in total inches of snow, but the total isn’t anywhere close to what the area saw in 2013.
Last April, the area saw a record cold month as well as 20.4 inches of snow. That snowfall shattered April’s old record for snow of 13.5 inches set in 1996.
So far this snow season that area has recorded 42.4 inches of snow, which is 1.3 inches more than the average of 41.1. Last year we received 65.2 inches of snow.
With temperatures warming in the days after the snow fell, with a high of 75 degrees reached in Benson Sunday, the snow disappeared quickly. However, soil temperatures still remain below 50 degrees, causing farmers to hold off on planting corn.
So far, April 2014 has been considerably warmer through the first three weeks than April 2013. In fact, the highs have been nearly 12 degrees warmer and the lows 2 degrees warmer. Still, this April remains colder than average.