Snow, Sleet, Ice, Everything Not Nice

Though the weather outside is cold and snowflakes are already starting to come down, this winter may not be as dreary as last winter, according to Larry Handley, Channel 9 meteorologist and University of Cincinnati alum.

“While I’m always looking at long-range trends, I shy away from making specific long-range forecasts because they tend to be very generic and highly variable,” Handley said. “However, this winter looks to have slightly above average temperatures and precipitation – we can probably expect snowfall somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 inches, give or take a few.”

Last winter, Cincinnati had about 26.2 inches of snow; the bulk was from a snowstorm March 7 and March 8.

“We had 10.3 inches of snow in just that one storm,” Handley said. “Last winter started cold in early December, which was typically chilly from mid-December through January, followed by a relatively mild February [and] March. All that averaged out to slightly above normal temps. This winter will probably be similar.”

With scattered flurries last week, Cincinnati should see its first measurable snowfall by late November, according to Handley.

Winter weather means winter weather driving conditions, which may be more troublesome than the actual snowfall itself.

“Tri-State residents as a whole have proven to be very poor drivers in the snow, probably because we don’t do it very often,” Handley said. “Even a couple of inches of snow at morning or evening rush hour can cause huge problems. But because our winters are mild compared to other cities as far north as ours, people really don’t do much preparation for winter.”

The chance of having snow on the ground for Christmas is approximately 17 percent and having snowfall on Christmas is about 13 percent, according to Handley.

Cincinnati experienced several ice storms last winter and can expect more of the same this winter, according to Handley.

Comments

5 comments

confused

Fri Nov 21 2008 11:26

The subhead completely contradicts the headline, and your lead reads like the Christmas song, "Let it snow". Your last paragraph has Handley making the opposite point he made in your first paragraph. Is it going to be a mild winter, or should we expect the same amount of ice storms as last year? I don't understand.

Melissa Hicks

Fri Nov 21 2008 11:22

Congrats Jasmine!! This is why we went to Creative and Performing Arts!!! Great article.

MH--Cincy State

Mike E.

Thu Nov 20 2008 15:21

Excellent article. I wish someone would predict the snow fall here in DC.

Tracey D.

Thu Nov 20 2008 14:49

Way to go-fine example of what to expect from you. Maybe I could get you to give me a prediction for the Fayetteville, TN region ?

Judah Meyer

Thu Nov 20 2008 14:28

Congratulations Jasmine, that was a great article, It was a simple read and educational while entertaining. I really enjoyed it. I look forwards to more of your front page work!
~Judah M.
RWC student.

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