50 Percent of the US Covered In Snow

50 Percent of the US Covered In Snow

Technically, it's still fall in the U.S., but don't tell that to the Lower 48. According to new observations from NOAA's Snow Analyses, more than 50 percent of the contiguous U.S. was covered with snow this morning.

The 50 percent mark is the greatest such snow cover total in the contiguous U.S. this early in the year since NOAA's Snow Analyses started tracking countrywide snow cover in 2003. For comparison's sake, and as the animation above shows, at this time last year only 12.5 percent of the U.S. was covered in snow.

On November 9, only a little more than 3 percent of the U.S. --- portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Michigan, to be exact -- was covered in snow. But now, after some serious lake effect snow in the Great Lakes, Winter Storm Astro and Winter Storm Bozeman, it's beginning to look a lot like winter, even as far south as Dallas, Texas.  

If you still needed convincing, just ask the folks in Montreal, Wisconsin. As weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman details, the northern Wisconsin town picked up more than 50 inches of snow in just four days due to a combination of snow from Winter Storm Astro and a lake effect snow event.

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/us-snow-cover-bozeman-astro-20141117