NWS meteorologist Kristen Cassady said what makes the storm a rare event is the combination of snow and temperatures quickly dropping, as well as rare subzero wind chills, which she said that the area probably only gets every once five to 10 years.
The NWS shared some of its statistics on the winter storm:
Dayton:
- Dayton saw its fastest 12-hour temperature drop on record, falling 53 degrees total from 45 degrees to minus 8 degrees
- It also saw the fourth fastest 6-hour drop from 39 degrees to zero, and its sixth fastest 4-hour temperature drop, from 39 degrees to 8 degrees
- It was the coldest Christmas Day since 1985 with a high of 14 degrees, and the fifth coldest since 1893
- Dayton reached the coldest observed wind chill since 2019 at minus 36 degrees, which is also the 11th coldest since 1948
- This was Dayton’s first white Christmas since 2017 with a snow depth of at least 1 inch at 7 a.m., and the greatest Christmas snow depth since 2004 at 3 inches.
Cincinnati:
- Cincinnati saw its fastest 4-, 6-, and 12-hour temperature drops on record, falling 33 degrees, 39 degrees and 52 degrees, respectively
- It also was the coldest Christmas Day since 1985 and the fifth coldest on record since 1871, with highs around 17 degrees
- The storm brought 25 consecutive hours of temperatures at or below zero in Cincinnati, which is the longest stretch since 2014 and tied for the ninth longest stretch since 1947
- The wind chill was the coldest observed since 1994 at minus 36 degrees, which also is the eighth coldest on record since 1948
- This also was Cincinnati’s first white Christmas since 2017, and the greatest Christmas morning snow depth since 2010 of 2 inches
Columbus:
- Columbus saw its fastest 12-hour temperature drop on record, falling 50 degrees from 43 degrees to minus 5 degrees
- It was also the second fastest 6-hour temperature drop and the third fastest 4-hour temperature drop on record, falling 41 degrees and 31 degrees, respectively
- The capital saw its coldest Christmas Day since 1983, with a high of 15 degrees — the fourth coldest since 1878
- The city reached its coldest observed wind chill since 1994 of minus 34 degrees, which is also the seventh coldest observed wind chill on record since 1948
- Columbus had its greatest Christmas morning snow depth since 1995 of 4 inches
[12:45 PM] Now that we're nearing the freezing mark (albeit slowly...), we've crunched the numbers from the pre-Christmas storm to provide additional context for just how rare some of the conditions across the region were. For more info, see our summary: https://t.co/BtAxYbikhy. pic.twitter.com/DubXi0uSn4
— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) December 27, 2022
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