Snow surfaces in local forecast

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D., has put a 70 percent chance of rain or snow in the forecast for Spencer on Friday night.

"It's been a little on the cool side, but as far as snow this time of year, that's not unusual," said meteorologist Mike Buss.

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker said the average date for the first flurries in the region is Oct. 25 for the Spencer area. The average date for the first inch of snowfall for Spencer is Nov. 23.

"What you're potentially getting this week is a little bit early," he said.

Last year, the first snow event didn't arrive until Nov. 7, when an inch of the white stuff fell.

The state record for the first flurry was Sept. 6, 1929, at Alton. Hillaker also noted a report of measurable snow on Sept. 16, 1881, for the western half of Iowa.

It was even worse a year earlier, when a blizzard struck northwest Iowa on Oct. 15-16, 1880. It was the beginning of what was termed the "Long Winter" in the Little House on the Prairie books. Author Laura Ingalls Wilder was 14 and living in the De Smet area of what would become South Dakota at the time.

The "modern-day" record for earliest widespread snowfall was set on Sept. 25, 1942. Accumulating snow fell over most of the state. Some places had as much as 4 inches of snow. One inch was the official total in Spencer.

Oct. 1, 1999, marked the earliest snow event in recent years, with 1.2 inches of snow measured in the Spencer area. Three inches of snow were reported in Sibley that day. It didn't snow again in Spencer that year until December 14.

The area could get a slight chance of rain or snow later in the weekend. Buss said forecasters are waiting to see how much warm air wraps around a weather system. There's a 50 percent chance of snow early Saturday and a 40 percent chance of snow Sunday.

"After this, it looks like we're getting back into a drier pattern," Buss said. "It looks like temperatures will warm up a bit."