SNOW IN JUNE!???

(Image from KFYR-TV Dickinson, ND snow June 6th 2009)

Written by: Brian Neudorff

There has been some unseasonably cold air in the Northern Plains and in the Northern Great Lakes, In fact, it was so cold in parts of North Dakota and Montana that they saw accumulating snow on Saturday. In Dickinson, ND on Saturday up to two inches of snow fell. It was the first time Dickinson had seen a snowflake in June in more than 60 years. The high temperature was only 42 degrees 31 degrees lower than the average of 73.

In in Hebron, ND, three inches of snow fell, Sunburst, MT had 5″ of new snow. Snow also fell in Helena and Great Falls, Montana. Bismarck, ND had a high temp. of 43 degrees, before Saturday they never had a June 6 that failed to get into the 50s before

The cool weather for us and a good part of the northern United States has been due to the position of the jet stream. A couple areas of strong high pressure in the northern latitudes is causing the jet stream farther south than it normally would be this time of year. Colder air is flowing into the northern states and parts of the Great lakes, while unseasonably warm and dry weather has persisted from parts of Alaska through British Columbia and Washington state.