Some Perspective on the October 26, 2020 Early Season Snow Event

October 26, 2020 Early Season Snow Event

Light snow moved into eastern Kansas and western Missouri on the morning of October 26, 2020 and persisted through most of the day. Most across the KC metro and areas of far northern Missouri saw very little snow from this storm; however the southern Kansas City metro received between 1-3 inches of snow through the day on Monday.

October snows in Kansas City are not completely unheard of, in fact five of the last seven Octobers saw some snow in the Kansas City area (although only three of those five actually saw measurable snow). Since Kansas City records began in 1888 there have only been 17 unique October dates with measurable snow. That equates to roughly once every 7 or 8 years.

Here are some of the biggest October snow events since 1888:

October 22, 1996 6.5 inches (largest single day October snowfall)

October 17-18, 1898 4.3 inches

October 24, 1908 4.0 inches

October 28, 1913 2.0 inches

October 25, 1898 1.5 inch

October 31, 1912 1.0 inch

October 26, 1913 1.0 inch

October 26, 1997 1.0 inch

October 30, 2019 0.9 inch (Remember last year having 1" of snow on the ground for Halloween?)

October 26, 2020 0.9 inch

It is noteworthy that the October 26, 2020 event did not receive even a daily record - 1 inch in 1997 is the record for October 26 - largely because the higher accumulations fell well south of the official Kansas City observation site at Kansas City International Airport. If the swath of 2-3 inches of snow fell just a touch further north, it would have been a daily record and perhaps qualified as a top five October snow in Kansas City.

So, while snow in Kansas City in October is not exactly an incredibly rare occurrence, the 2-3 inches that fell on October 26 represents an event that likely only occurs on average every decade or two.

Snow/Ice
Photos & Video

Photos & Video

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Over 2 inches of snow fell in Lee's Summit, Missouri on Oct 26, 2020	Nearly 2 inches of snow fell in Olathe, Kansas on Oct 26, 2020	The rarity of this event is captured in this photo of a barely changed tree with around 2 inches of snow. It's a rare sight to see fully lush trees with several inches of snow.	The rarity of this event is captured in this photo of a barely changed tree with around 2 inches of snow. It's a rare sight to see fully lush trees with several inches of snow.

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