Winter storms covering multiple states in snow and ice usually first arrive in November, and sometimes these first-of-the-season snowstorms can have major impacts.

What is a winter storm?

While some weather systems manage to produce light snow or snow showers in a few areas, in this context, we consider a winter storm one which covers at least multiple states in significant snow and/or ice.

(MORE: The winter storm names for 2026-27 and why they're important)

One example is shown in the map below from January 2024, which spread snow from the Mountain West to the Plains, Midwest and Northeast.

These impactful storms have been named by The Weather Channel each winter season since 2012.

When does the first winter storm arrive?

We examined the date when the first winter storm of each winter season was named by The Weather Channel.

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As you can see in the graph below, these first storms arrived as soon as early October and as late as the second week of December over the past 13 seasons.

(MORE: When to expect your first accumulating snowfall)

The median of those dates is around the second week of November.

All but one of those seasons (2021) had at least one winter storm in the U.S. before Thanksgiving.

Where does the first winter storm usually hit?

The animation below shows where each of the first named winter storms of the season happened over the past 13 years.

In general, most affected either the Mountain West, High Plains or Northern Plains. Cold air is typically less widespread early in the season, so the farther north and higher in elevation, the better chance of significant early-season snow.

Two of these storms — both in mid-November — hit parts of the Northeast in 2016 and 2018.

First-of-season storms can be high impact

First-of-season storms can leave their mark.

In late October 2011, up to a foot of wet, heavy snow in the Northeast downed numerous trees and power lines. Over 3 million customers lost power, some for more than a week.

One year later, Superstorm Sandy's weird cold side buried the Appalachians in feet of snow and blizzard conditions.

The Halloween blizzard of 1991 was the snowstorm of record in Minnesota, including the Twin Cities and Duluth. Snow drifts up to 10 feet stranded hundreds of motorists.

How to prepare for an early winter storm

It might be hard to think about snow when you just finished the weekslong chore of raking leaves.

Here are a few things you can do now to be ready before that first snowfall:

• Get your snow thrower ready. If it's a gas engine machine, change its oil, fill it with gas and make sure it starts.
• If you can't or don't want to clear your sidewalk or driveway, book a snow-removal service to do that for you.
• Have any dead trees or limbs removed, especially those near your house, to avoid them falling during a storm.
• Stock up on hand and foot warmers.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.