Did it really snow in Sacramento last night? Here’s what happened — and what’s next

Sacramento is in for a chilly February, after facing a bout of freezing temperatures and now rain and — possibly — snow?

A Reddit user posted a screenshot on the community discussion website of their Sacramento forecast from the Apple weather app that showed snow at around 7 p.m. Thursday. Another user replied to the thread with a screenshot of Roseville’s weather, which forecast flurries at 5 a.m. Friday.

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Flurries, according to the National Weather Service, are quick and light snow showers and cannot be measured by accumulation.

Did it snow in Sacramento?

It did not snow in Sacramento.

“It was way too warm for it to snow and we were never forecasting any snow in Sacramento,” said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist with the weather service.

She said the app forecasts are not associated to the weather service, so the algorithms or models are different.

The Apple weather app gets its data from several sources, using the Weather Channel for 10-day forecasts, national weather services globally for precipitation and severe weather information and Apple Weather for temperature and precipitation maps.

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Could it snow in Sacramento?

It’s possible.

For it to snow in the area, it has to be really cold, Chandler-Cooley said, around 30 degrees. But typically, it doesn’t get that cold here.

The last time it snowed in Sacramento was on Dec. 7, 2009, when traces of snow were reported and measured at Sacramento Executive Airport. The highest 24-hour snowfall in the area was in 1888 on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, Chandler-Cooley said. About 3.5 inches were recorded.

Whether there could be snow this winter, as Sacramento undergoes another cold front, it’s hard to tell. It’s based on a storm-by-storm basis when it comes to snow in the valley, the meteorologist said.

Latest forecast

Sacramento’s getting wet weather from Friday to Sunday. Friday’s high is near 56 with a low around 43. Highs for the weekend are near the 60s. The low for Saturday is around 48 and Sunday, around 39.

Heavy snow is projected in the Sierra Saturday night to Sunday. The weather service is advising to not travel in the mountains due to major delays, road closures and chain controls.

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