When to Expect the Last Snow

By spring, the sight of a blanket of snow may cause more aggravation among the snow-fatigued instead of the excitement it generated in October or November.

(MORE: Where March and April are the Snowiest Months)

We scoured National Weather Service records to compile both the average date of the final measurable snow (at least 0.1 inches) of the spring, and also the date of the latest spring accumulating snow on record. In some locations, that record-latest date was in the summer.

The map above indicates the average month each location can usually put away the shovel or snowblower for the season.

(MORE: Extreme Winter Storms That Struck in Spring)

In the Northeast, areas closer to the coast usually see the last snowfall of the season during March. For areas farther north and inland, the last snowfall typically takes place in April.

Average Last Snowfall of the Season

Latest Snowfall of the Season

Caribou, Maine

April 25

May 25, 1974

Burlington, Vermont

April 12

May 12, 1996

Boston

March 27

May 10, 1977

New York City

March 16

April 19, 1983

Syracuse, New York

April 10

May 17, 1973

Buffalo, New York

April 10

May 20, 1907

Pittsburgh

April 6

May 9, 1966

Philadelphia

March 16

April 27, 1967

Baltimore

March 8

April 13, 1957

Charleston, West Virginia

March 28

May 7, 1989

Areas across the northern Plains into the upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes typically experience the last snowfall of the season in April, while areas farther south usually say goodbye to additional snowfall in March.

Average Last Snowfall of the Season

Latest Snowfall of the Season

Cleveland

April 7

May 10, 1907

Detroit

April 4

May 4, 1954

Louisville, Kentucky

March 12

May 6, 1898

Indianapolis

March 19

May 9, 1923

St. Louis

March 17

May 2, 1929

Kansas City

March 16

May 3, 1907

Chicago

March 31

May 11, 1966

Minneapolis

April 9

May 24, 1925

Fargo, North Dakota

April 8

May 21, 1963

Rapid City, South Dakota

April 23

June 13, 1969

Omaha, Nebraska

March 28

May 9, 1945

Amarillo, Texas

March 25

May 4, 1935

Farther west, many locations wait until May or later to see the last snowfall of the season. One location not listed in the table below, Mount Rainier, Washington, sees the average last snowfall on July 13.

Average Last Snowfall of the Season

Latest Snowfall of the Season

Crater Lake Nat'l Park, Oregon

June 12

July 10, 1974

Tahoe City, California

May 7

June 16, 1995

Flagstaff, Arizona

April 22

June 8, 1907

Salt Lake City

April 17

June 6, 1914

Boise, Idaho

March 17

May 26, 1922

Missoula, Montana

April 20

June 11, 2008

Yellowstone Lake, Montana

May 30

July 3, 1983

Billings, Montana

April 29

June 8, 1950

Cheyenne, Wyoming

May 15

June 12, 1947

Denver

April 27

June 2, 1951

Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 21

May 4, 1935

Alaska is not shown on the map at the top. Dates for average last snowfall there range from March 31 in Juneau to June 21 in Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow).

Footnotes:

• We only plotted cities and locations whose average last measurable snow of the season occurs in March or later. As a result, our nation's capital was among cities not plotted (average date of last snow of the season is Feb. 24).
• Since accumulating graupel or hail is also officially classified as snow in daily and monthly climate reports, we made every effort to quality check each "latest snow" record, removing those dates when temperatures were clearly too warm for snow, on which hail likely fell instead.