When were the snowiest and least snowy winters in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad?

(WGHP) — We are in a snow drought, and it has been tough for snow lovers.

The last time we had measurable snowfall in the Piedmont Triad was Jan. 29, 2022, when 1.8″ fell. That was 2 years and half a month ago.

The photo gallery below contains viewer-submitted photos of snow from Jan. 29, 2022.

There is still technically time for snow, but we are not seeing anything, and we are getting close to running out of time. 

In our history, the latest measurable snow to fall at PTI was April 4, 1915, when a surprising 8 inches fell. That happened to be on an Easter. 

In April of 1983, nearby RDU had 1.8 inches on April 18, and many in the Triad saw a good dusting on the ground (at least 0.1″, but PTI only recorded a trace). 

We get non-measurable snowfall in April about once a decade here in the Triad. So, technically, we still have a chance for another 6 weeks.  

Speaking of snow droughts, over the past 120-plus years, we are in rare territory. 

In the last two winters, we only had trace amounts of snow. That means snowflakes were reported to fall, but there was no accumulation. Again, last year on March 12, 2023, that Sunday morning we had a dusting on the ground and rooftops in the Triad including near the airport (which would mean at least 0.1″) but PTI recorded it as only a trace. 

The other years with such low amounts were in the 1920s, about 100 years ago.

The snowiest winters for us were dominated by the 1960s, when three of the top four snowiest winters of the past 120 years were recorded. 

The 1960s brought so much, followed by above-normal snowfall in the 1970s and 80s, that people got used to more snow in that period. People who grew up in those decades have felt that, since then, we don’t get snow like we used to. These same people don’t realize that we had many years with little snowfall during the first 59 years of the 1900s.   

Ironically, the snowiest was in the winter of 1926-27, when we had 32.5″. 

Otherwise, that decade had very little snow.

So, there is still time for snow, but the clock is ticking.