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The history of snow in Austin, TX

We’re digging into the historic data on snow in Texas, from annual averages to largest storms.

A black-and-white photograph of a suburban street covered in snow. A large Chevrolet Suburban is parked on the snowy road, with visible tracks in the slush. A person wearing winter gear is skiing behind the vehicle, holding onto a rope for balance. Snow blankets the surrounding trees and houses, capturing a rare winter moment in Austin, Texas. The image is credited to the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Austinite Jackie Gerber skis behind a station wagon on modified water skis in January of 1985.

An arctic blast is moving toward Texas, and with it comes a chance of snow on Austin’s weather forecast for next week.

From light dustings to historic snowfalls, let’s reflect on the history of snow in the Capital City together.

Average snow in Austin

A black-and-white image of the Texas Capitol building with snow on the ground.

Snow on the Texas Capitol grounds is a rare but beautiful sight.

Freezing rain, sleet, and/or snow falls on Austin about once every two to three years. Austinites know that when it snows, it’s not likely to be a blizzard. Since 2010, snowfall has only exceeded one inch one time.

The annual snowfall average is ~0.2 inches in ATX, making Austin pretty snow-sparse compared to some other Texas cities, like:

  • Lubbock: 7 inches
  • Dallas: 1.7 inches
  • Fort Worth: 2 inches
  • Waco: 0.7 inches

However, Austinites do still get more snow than other nearby towns. Killeen and New Braunfels get so little snow that the cities report an annual snowfall of zero inches.

A graph showing historic snowfall by the amount of inches of snow that fell

February 2021 brought the fourth-highest snowfall in Austin history.

Graphic by ATXtoday

Historic snow in Austin

Historically, only seven winter storms have resulted in 5+ inches of snow sticking in ATX:

  • 11 inches from Nov. 22-23, 1937
  • 7 inches from Jan. 13-14, 1944
  • 6.5 inches on Jan. 30, 1949
  • 6 inches from Feb. 22-23, 1966
  • 5.5 inches from Dec. 20-21, 1929
  • 5.4 inches from Feb. 14-15, 2021
  • 5 inches from Jan. 24-25, 1926

Our heaviest snow on record at 11 inches sounds like a lot — and it is — but it’s nowhere near record snowfalls in Texas’ other major cities:

Let’s not forget the largest snowfall in Texas history. In 1929, a smashing 26 inches fell on Hillsboro, just short of a two-hour drive north of Austin.

Snow covers the ground around Town Lake in Austin, TX, in February of 1967 with the City of Austin auditorium visible on the other side of the lake.

This image of Town Lake and the City of Austin Auditorium (where the Long Center now stands) was taken in February of 1967.

Looking forward

As we brace ourselves for another cold front this week, be sure to read up on our guide to winter preparedness in Austin.

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