It’s March, spring is around the corner, and you’re possibly getting tired of snow like many of us are.

What You Need To Know

  • The second snowiest month on record in Albany is March

  • The last measurable snow of the season has never happened in February

  • The average last measurable snow is expected, but the latest on record is surprising

We’re just getting started, but March 2021 has not been impressive regarding snowfall so far. We’ve only seen one inch. That being said, if you’re wishing that we’ll get it easy this March, keep wishing. Records show that March is not an easy month regarding winter weather. If you’re wishing for this to be the last month we see snow... again, keep wishing. 

March happens to be the second-snowiest month on record for the city of Albany, falling behind December. In December 1969, 57.5 inches of snow fell. March 1888 came in a close second at 50.9 inches.

 

The reason March 1888 is the second-snowiest month on record is because of a massive snowstorm that year. Between March 11 and March 14 alone, 46.7 inches of snow fell. While March isn’t the snowiest month on record for Albany, it contains the highest snowfall out of the top individual storms because of this particular event. It was a long time ago, but that’s very impressive.

 

Now the opposite question to ask is whether it’s ever not snowed in March? The quick answer is no. The earliest in a year we have ever seen the last measurable snow of the season was on March 7, 1910 with a tenth of an inch. This means we have never seen on record the last snowfall of the season in February in Albany.

What’s probably the least surprising is that Albany sees its last snowfall of the season around April 6, on average. We’re used to those early spring snow showers in April around here. On average, Albany sees 2.3 inches of snow in April. While that’s not a lot, it’s enough to get the snow brush out if this occurs on one day of the month.

 

If you’re relatively new to the area, you’ll find this more surprising: May is the latest we’ve ever seen measurable snow in a given year. This has happened six times on record. The most snow Albany has seen in May was in 1945, with 5.4 inches for the whole month. The latest May snow on record in Albany occurred on May 18, 2002 at 2.2 inches.

 

So now you know that May 18 is the day to beat. To give you a sense of how late that is, if that were this year, that snow would be occurring 33 days before summer (June 20) – just a little over one month before. Yes, that’s crazy, and if you’re not a snow-lover, not what you want to hear. That is why I keep my snow brush in my car until June every year, even though I get laughed at. Who’s laughing now?