Snow Blankets Dallas on the First Day of Spring

On the morning of March 20, 2010, the weather forecasters were predicting that Dallas might see some snow in the late afternoon and early evening, but no real accumulation was expected. As late afternoon approached, the temperature dropped and the rain slowly turned to snow. As the first few snowflakes fell, children and adults alike went to their windows to watch the snow come down, and everyone marveled at the notion of snow coming so late in the season.

In homes all across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex people were signing in to their Facebook pages to spread the news that snow was falling in Dallas. Some people were delighted, while some were disappointed that the warm weather that had arrived a few days earlier, was now long gone.

While it is unusual for Dallas to receive snow this late in the year, the city does occasionally get a Springtime snowfall. In fact, as recently as 2007, the city of Dallas has had a dusting of snow as late in the year as the first week of April.

The winter of 2009-2010 is already the second snowiest winter on record in Dallas and this latest dusting of snow may allow this winter to be formally declared the snowiest winter on record in Dallas. The snowiest winter on record in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex was the winter of 1977-78 when 17.6 inches fell. Before this latest dusting of snow, the city of Dallas had received 15.8 inches of snow this winter according to the National Weather Service Web site, thus if the official tally for yesterday's snowfall proves to be greater than 1.9 inches, this winter will be the snowiest winter on record in Dallas.

Yesterday as the snow fell all afternoon and into the evening, the forecast changed from little or no accumulation to up to 1 inch of accumulation but the forecasters were wrong again. The storm system stalled over Dallas, which allowed it to continue dumping snow onto the metroplex well into the early morning hours of March 21, 2010 - the first official day of Spring.

While Dallas awaits the official snow tally for this unusual Springtime snowfall to be announced, the snow has already melted away in most places. The temperatures in Dallas are expected to be back in the 70's by mid-week, which may make this late season snowfall seem more like a dream than a memory.