MASON CITY, IA - Say it isn't snow.
Many people woke up this morning surprised to see the ground yet again covered in white.
The shovels are back out, the cars are getting brushed off, and garden centers look a little out of place as April snow showers cover up would-be May flowers.
“I didn't think we were going to have this, but hey it's Iowa,” said Gary Cole.
Cole thought his shoveling days were over, but isn't surprised the snow is back.
“Oh yeah it should have happened last month though,” said Cole.
On the roadways drivers are getting used to navigating slick streets.
“Well I don't know if we ever expect to have snow on April 19th,” said Pete Hjelmstad, Iowa Department of Transportation.
Hjelmstad says even for a late April snow, local highway crews were ready.
“Mason City and Hanlontown shops they kept the plows on every truck that they could up until now and it's a good thing they did because they are ready to go,” said Hjelmstad.
And while this late season snowfall might seem a little out of the ordinary, it's something that's more common than you might think.
"The average last snowfall date for greater than one inch typically is March 24th so obviously something like this is outside the norm but it's not unheard of," said Adam Frederick, KIMT Chief Meterologist.
State climatology records show in 123 years of record-keeping, there has never been an April without snow in Iowa.
"It was back on May 28 and 29 of 1947 that Mason City picked up four and a half inches of snow, May not April,” said Frederick.
So whether you have to scoop it, push it or simply drive in it, the snow is here for just awhile longer. Something people here in the mid-west are all too familiar with.
“We've seen it all year!” said Cole.
