The Latest Date Waterloo Received First INCH of Snow…was in FEBRUARY?

This is hard to believe, but in the winter of 1944, the city of Waterloo didn’t receive its first inch of snow from a single winter weather event until February 10. (According to data from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet)

That is the only time in the history of Waterloo (dating back to the 1890s) that the first inch of snow didn’t fall until February.

Seven times Black Hawk County residents had to wait until January for that first inch of snow, most recently in 2005. 37 times the first inch occurred in December, most recently in 2016 and 2017.

So, in roughly 1/3 of all winters in Waterloo since the 1890s, the first inch of snow didn’t fall until December.

What about just a ‘trace’ of snow? Last year, the first few flurries floated down in Waterloo on October 18^th. The most recent time that the city didn’t receive its first ‘Trace’ of snow until November was 11/29/2016. Who remembers November 19, 2015? Waterloo was nailed with 10.5” of snow that day.

If you prefer to have snow for Santa on Christmas Eve, it has snowed 29 times on 12/24 in Waterloo since 1895, most recently in 2017, and six of the last 13 years. Only three times in the city’s history, the first 1+ inches of snow recorded on Christmas Eve. (1903, 1962, 1993)

So, as the amount of daylight continues to shrink and the cool days turn to even colder nights. This is a reminder that probably sooner than later, we're gonna get hit. So, be prepared!