Ohio expects above-average snow this winter

Were you excited to see those first fluffy flakes falling to the ground on Sunday? Or did you curl up under a blanket and curse that wintry weather?

• Regardless of your stance, prepare to see more of it.

What's happening: It's likely that Ohio and much of the Midwest will experience above-average precipitation this winter, according to the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's outlook for December, January and February.

Why it matters: The forecasts, released monthly, help communities prepare and minimize weather's impact.

The big picture: It's not unusual for Columbus to get measurable snow — at least 1/10 of an inch — in November, but it did arrive a little earlier than usual. It normally occurs around Nov. 20, Brian Coniglio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, tells Axios.

• The earliest it ever arrived was Oct. 10, 1906, and the latest was Jan. 10, 2016.
• Sunday's snow totaled 4/10 of an inch.

Of note: The first snowfall of an inch or more typically comes Dec. 11.

Flashback: Ohio just experienced its warmest October on record with an average of 60.6 degrees, which confused most trees into thinking fall hadn't arrived yet. The previous record was 59.9 degrees in 2007.

• Columbus had its third-warmest October, at 62.2 degrees, Coniglio said.

💭 Alissa's thought bubble: You don't snow what you've got till it's gone … time to bundle up.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the first snow stats apply to Columbus (not Ohio as a whole).