When the dinosaurs roamed the earth did it snow in the winter?

Question

I know that it was hot and humid and it rained a lot but clearly there must have been cold winters. So I wondered if it snowed when the dinosaurs lived on earth and how they got through the cold winters.

Answer 1

The timeframe for the “Age of Dinosaurs” is huge and cover about 160 millions years.  The first dinosaurs did not appear until late Triassic period (cca 230 million years ago) and they were extinct around 65 millions years ago.  This time scale cover Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous period, which were distinct phases in Earth history and each had unique climate due different distribution of land mass and ocean.  The Triassic and most of the Jurassic period were warm, and inner interior of the continent were desert while, polar regions had temperate climate.  During transition from Jurassic to Craterous era (145 millions years ago), Earth began to cool and polar ice caps had appeared.  This ice cap was recurring occasionally for next 80 million years.  The large reptiles of Late Jurassic era and continuing to Cretaceous period (till 65 millions years ago) did experienced snow and seasonal weather.  The polar region was covered with ice from time to time, and periodic snowfall occurred in higher elevation and higher latitudes.  There is even evidence of glaciations around the Earth from this period.  But overall, the era of Dinosaurs was generally warm, hotter than today’s climate.

Answer 2

The time of the dinosaurs was during the Mesozoic Era. That Era was divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. Dinosaurs started making their appearance during the Late Triassic. At that time, the world was very hot and dry. Lots of land was desert. There is no evidence of glaciation at the poles, and in fact the poles were probably also moist and temperate. Pangaea was seasonal, with very hot summers and cold winters. I don't think it snowed; just the temperature changed.

During the Jurassic Period, when dinosaurs started growing to enormous sizes, the climate was still warm, and forests grew. All this vegetation was food for the herbivorous dinosaurs that lived at the time.

Still, there were no ice caps.

During the Cretaceous Period, snowfall was very common in the high latitudes, and the tropics became wetter. There is evidence that dinosaurs lived at the poles (without migrating) like Leaellynasaura. It is thought that they had excellent night vision. I'm not sure exactly how they got through, but you could look at the sources below to find out.

Answer 3

In general terms, the climate was warmer, meaning the tropics and subtropics (where there is no snow) extended a lot further away from the equator than at present.  There evidently was a lot more land mass near the equator than at present as well.  As a result, there were vast areas of land where there was rarely to never any snow.  There does not appear to be any reason to assume that the polar regions were free of subfreezing temperatures throughout the entire year, although the warmer periods (non-freezing periods) were longer and warmer, presumably.

Answer 4

No, there was no precipitaion in the land before time. However, after the cataclysmic events that changed life on earth forever, dinosaurs did survive for a few thousand years and experienced snow.

According to the bible, it never rained before the flood.

Answer 5

Possibly but there is evidence that the geo-climate during the Mesozoic era was a bit warmer than it is today.  So snow would probably be in higher elevation and less.  

Answer 6

Absolutely, in the mountains and in the temperate zones.  It is not clear if dinosaurs were cold blooded or homeothermic.  This would influence their living in cold climates. Some species of dinosaurs were known to migrate and therefore might avoid the colder climates.