The "S" Word

The afternoon forecaster at the National Weather Service in La Crosse dared to mention the "s" word in his forecast discussion today--that would be "snow". Apparently, there is a chance, albeit small, of some snow in the forecast area later in the week. Cooler air is currently expected to send temperatures below normal for the latter half of the week, and with a low pressure system nearby some precipitation is expected. None of the surrounding offices mentioned the possibility of snow in their afternoon discussions, so I don't really think the threat is that great, but it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out. Snow in May is not unprecedented, but it isn't very common either. A trace of snow fell on the first two days of May last year, and half an inch fell on May 1, 1997 (followed by a trace on the 15th). The most famous May snowstorm was on May 28-29, 1947, when seven to nine inches fell across Crawford and Vernon counties. I really doubt we'll have to worry about snowfall totals like this, but given the general wierdness of the weather during the last several years, who knows?