If you've been hoping for more snow this winter, you may have to wait a little longer.
In the Cincinnati area, the snowstorm before Christmas brought intensely cold temperatures and inches of snow. Before that storm, the area had only seen a little over an inch of snow total between November and the end of December.
The National Weather Service says Cincinnati has seen about seven inches of snow this season, which is the average and expected amount for this point in the year, but there's no guarantee the snowfall levels will stay that way.
The previous two months were warmer on average than in years past and January is shaping up to be yet another warmer month.
Even with the harsh holiday snowstorm and bitter cold, the average temperature in December was 35.5 degrees, about one degree warmer than the average from previous years. November had a similar rise in average temperature. It's only a slight difference, but it could mean the difference between rain and snow.
"We have been fairly warm through the fall and into the winter if you take out that one cold snap we had there right around Christmas time," Jim Lott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said. "Looking at the next seven to 14 days or so, we're probably going to stay above normal, so our snow possibilities over the next couple of weeks at least look fairly low."
We may be looking at a warm few weeks, but Lott says we can still expect the usual cold weather and snow that comes during February and early March.
Heavy snowfall at the end of the season could even out averages after a warm month, but too much snow before spring could negatively affect soil conditions and make things harder for farmers.
"If we get a really big snowpack and it sticks around into March and it all melts at once, it could cause some pretty wet soil conditions, but if we get a general snow over the entire winter that kind of melts, then comes, then melts and goes, it really won't have that big of an effect on agriculture," Lott said.
The National Weather Service says Cincinnati will experience some light snow in the few days, but we will have to wait and see when the next significant snowfall reaches the area.
