Historic May Snowstorm

Winter Storm Achilles wasan historic, record-breaking May snowstorm for the Midwest and even parts of the South.

We have a look at 10 of the most amazing aspects of this storm ranging from extreme temperatures to where we've seen record snowfall. We begin with a city that went from feeling summer heat to shivering like it was the heart of winter.

Highs Tuesday versus Thursday morning temperatures.

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On the final two days of April, saw temperatures rise well into the 90s. A record high temperature of 97 degrees was set on April 30.

A little more than 24 hours later on the evening of May 1, temperatures in this Texas Panhandle city plummeted into the 30s before bottoming out at 33 degrees on the morning of May 2. The wind chill at the time was 19 degrees!

That's not all. Early in the morning on May 2 light snow was also reported.

Big Snow Totals in the Rockies, Too

Fort Collins, Colo.

Kelly Scholl, a horticulturist at the Gardens at Spring Creek in Fort Collins, Colo., uses a broom to knock heavy snow from a tree at the gardens, Wednesday, May 1, 2013. (AP Photo/The Coloradoan, Rich Abrahamson)

Above: Photos from Achilles in Colorado.

It's not just the Midwest that has seen double-digit snowfall totals from Achilles.

Parts of the Rockies and Front Range saw the snow first, although it's not that unusual to see significant early May snow in this region.

That said, reported 12.8 inches of snow on May 1. This was the second snowiest May calendar day in Fort Collins in records dating back to 1893. The heavy, wet nature of the snow broke tree branches and caused some power outages.

The top snow total in Colorado was 28.2 inches near Buckhorn Mountain.

Record-Breaking Snowfall Cities

For some cities in the Midwest, Achilles is the biggest snowstorm on record in May.

Rochester, Minn. -14.3 inches of snow piled up at the airport. This crushes the previous heaviest May snowstorm of 2 inches set May 4-5, 1944.

Omaha, Neb. - A storm total of 3.1 inches was measured, which beats out the previous May snowstorm record of 2 inches set on May 9, 1945. Thundersnow was also reported in Omaha.

Dodge City, Kan. - 1 inch storm total from Achilles is a new record snow for May. Previous record was 0.9 inches in May of 1978.

- Latest trace of snow on record, and first in the month of May.

Des Moines, Iowa - Storm total of 6.9 inches is the biggest snowfall in May history.

Eau Claire, Wis. - Biggest May snowstorm on record with 9.3 inches.

- Record latest measurable snowfall (1.4"). Previous record was May 2, 1929 (6.1"). Only other measurable May snowfall, there, was on May 26, 1953 (0.6"). Records in Springfield, Mo. date to 1888.

New May State Snowfall Records?

Preliminary

Winter Storm Achilles may have set the record for the biggest May snowstorm at any single location in four different states! That said, these potential records are based on preliminary data and will have to be verified.

Wisconsin - We've seen snowfall reports of 18 inches near Hayward and 17 inches in Rice Lake. These amounts exceed the May record 1-day (10.9 inches in Pine River), 2-day (15.4 inches near Bayfield) and 3-day (15.4 inches near Bayfield) snowfalls for any single location in Wisconsin.

Minnesota - 18 inches of snow was measured in Blooming Prairie, between Albert Lea and Rochester. This snow total exceeds the May record 1-day (12 inches in Windom), 2-day (12.1 inches at Owatonna) and 3-day (15 inches at Sandy Lake Dam/Libby) snowfalls for any single location in Minnesota.

Iowa - 13 inches of snow has been measured by an observer in Osage. According to the National Weather Service in Des Moines, this total exceeds the previous heaviest May snowstorm in Iowa of 10 inches set on May 28, 1947 in Le Mars.

Arkansas - Up to 5 inches reported near Decatur. No snowfall has ever been recorded in the state during the month of May prior to Achilles.

First Inch of Snow in 46 Years

A cow stands in a feedlot amid falling snow near Grimes, Iowa. (Image: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Above: Photos from Winter Storm Achilles.

In the Hawkeye State of Iowa, Winter Storm Achilles produced the first one inch May snowfall anywhere in the state since 1967!

Parts of northern Iowa reported 6 to 13 inches of snow from the storm.

Snow as Far South as....

Map above shows location of the farthest south documented snowfall during Winter Storm Achilles.

Usually we're more concerned with severe thunderstorms in the southern Plains in early May. More on that later.

For a two-hour period early on May 2, 2013, light snow and flurries fell as far south as Childress, Texas.

While the snow did not accumulate, there, it's noteworthy that dating to 1893, there is no record of accumulating May snowfall in Childress.

Snow in the Texas Panhandle in May is not unprecedented, however. Amarillo, Texas has had four separate May snow events dating to 1892, most recently a 4.7 inch snowfall on May 2, 2005.

Defying May's Severe Reputation

Clickable map above shows hail reports (circles) and damaging/high wind reports (blue arrows).

The words "May", "tornadoes" and "Plains" have historically coincided often.

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Usually when a sharp dip in the jet stream swings into the Plains states in May, a severe weather outbreak is a virtual slam dunk. Not this time.

The dominance of the cold air plunging down the High Plains, and the blocked up nature of the atmosphere, put a strong lid on Plains severe weather.

On May 1, only 21 total reports of severe weather were received from the Plains states (not counting the reports from a separate upper-level system in the Southeast/Florida). Not a single tornado was reported.

According to Severe Weather Expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, an "average" May day features around 172 reports of severe weather (large hail, damaging winds, high winds, or tornadoes) in the country.

This plays on the general theme of a lack of severe weather outbreaks and tornadoes, in particular since March. According to Dr. Harold Brooks from the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the twelve-month period from May 2012 through April 2013 had the fewest U.S. tornado deaths (7) in any 12-month period since Sep. 1899-Aug. 1900!

Subzero Wind Chills and Record May Cold

Cheyenne, Wyo.

Emily Jeffer, left, and Marge Jeffers try to navigate snow in Lions Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. (AP Photo/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Michael Smith)

First came the heavy snow. Cheyenne, Wyo. picked up 12.8" from Apr. 30 - May 1 from .

Then a mid-winter chill...in early May.

Morning lows on May 2 bottomed out at 5 degrees in nearby shattering the old May monthly record of 9 degrees set almost five years ago (May 3, 2008).

Morning wind chills approached 10 degrees below zero in southeast Wyoming!

tied its May monthly record low set back in May 3, 1907 (19 degrees). These are among the lowest average daily low temperatures in the Mile-High City from late November through mid-February.

(27 degrees) and (32 degrees) both broke their all-time record lows for the month of May on Friday morning. Midland shattered its previous latest freeze by almost two weeks!

Other May record lows on May 3 were tied or broken in (33), (50), (41), (38) and (37) and (21).

The parade of May record cold continued May 4, with monthly records broken in , , and , as well as .

In addition, several locations had their coldest daily May high temperatures of record, including (39 on May 3) and (36 on May 3).

May Ice!

Historic May snow coats the ground in Bentonville, Ark. on May 3, 2013.

(iWitnessWeather/MaryB)

We thought it was strange when a mid-April winter storm, , brought a round of freezing rain to southeast South Dakota, among other areas, April 9, knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers, some for several days, in Sioux Falls.

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Now, produced freezing rain as far south as Harrison, Ark. early on May 3, 2013. For perspective, the average high in Harrison on May 3 is 73, the average low is 52. Oh yes, and there had been no record of any May snowfall anywhere in the state of Arkansas prior to this storm.

Freezing rain overnight on May 2 into May 3 coated cars in La Crosse, Wisc. Heavy sleet accumulated on roads north of Tomahawk, Wisc. One-eighth inch of ice accumulated in elevated surfaces in Alger County, Mich.

Wildfires, too!

Camarillo, Calif.

U.S. Forest Service firefighters walk a scorched ridge at the Springs fire on May 4, 2013 near Camarillo, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Admittedly, this is not a direct impact from .

However, the same weather pattern responsible for the slow-moving winter storm in the Rockies and Plains also helped generate Santa Ana winds in southern California, which helped fan wildfires near Banning and Camarillo.

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Offshore "Diablo winds" were also howling in the East Bay mountains and hills east of Oakland, Calif. on May 1. This helped fan a wildfire in Sonoma County, channeling smoke into the Bay Area into May 2.

Santa Ana winds, and hence the peak of the California wildfire season, tends to occur from October through March. The wildfire peak is mainly due to dried out fuels from the summer, coupled with those strong winds. However, California just went through its record driest January - March in 2013, so surface dryness was ripe for wildfire starts, while high winds spread them quickly…in early May.

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New Haven, Conn.

A neighborhood near New Haven, Conn., is buried in snow in the aftermath of a storm that hit Connecticut and much of New England. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)