Snow in April? It can happen

It may not be so surprising, for example, that “a light snow storm” was reported on April 11, 1857, at Mount Lebanon in Bienville Parish (just below Shreveport). The newspaper reported that snow fell there for “several hours” and that the tops of houses were covered with sleet.

Likewise, the newspaper in Lake Providence, in the extreme northeastern part of the state reported that month that old residents in the vicinity said they had never seen “a more backward spring,” and that “every species of vegetable and fruit which escaped destruction has been seriously retarded by the extraordinary chilliness of the season.”

It is perhaps more surprising that on April 25, 1857, the Opelousas Planter reported “quite a snow storm” the week before, and, still farther south, the newspaper in  Napoleonville reported that same week  the “second visit of frost and ice” during April. 

And, of course, we have been regularly visited by so-called “blue northers” that drop the temperature quickly. On April 10, 1914, for example, the Lafayette Advertiser reported: “The weather man sprung a big surprise Wednesday. In the morning the sky was overcast and a sharp wind blowing. The temperature fell during the day and by noon all the unfortunates who confidingly trusted in summer … wear were sorry they didn’t have on an overcoat. It was very cool for the season and fires became necessary for comfort.”

The latest snowfalls in recent times that I can find were all in March. On March 22, 1968, the Louisiana climatologist reported: “Away from the coast, measurable snowfalls were reported over much of the state in an extensive, unusually late and heavy snowstorm. Many stations had totals on March 21 and 22 which were larger than those of any previous March and, in some cases, of record.”

On March 12, 1993, a trace of snow was measured at Lafayette and accumulations were recorded elsewhere in the state as far south as Slidell as Louisiana felt just the edge of a severe blizzard that battered the eastern United States.

More recently, sleet fell across much of Acadiana on April 8, 2007. At that time, a researcher at the Lake Charles office of the National Weather Service reported, “It is not totally unprecedented to see frozen precipitation in April.  … We have come across at least a couple of events of sleet or snow in April at Lake Charles."

Other than these reports from 1857, I find no record of accumulations of snow in south Louisiana in April, which is just fine with me. All in all, I prefer an April such as the one described by The Planter’s Banner, published in Franklin, in 1847: “Spring has come—beautiful Spring—glittering with garlands, and attended by light-pinioned zephyrs and sweet singing birds—Spring has come! Reviving earth is clothed in her loveliest dress—the tall trees, covered with green glories, tell their joy to the odorous breezes—the busy bees hum out their happiness, as they sip the garden’s sweets and the quiet sky looks lovingly down and smiles.”

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You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jhbradshaw@bellsouth.net or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.