Here's the Earliest You Could See Freezing Temperatures in Your Area

An unusual September snowstorm brought snow and record-breaking cold temperatures to parts of the West earlier this week. Denver; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Goodland, Kansas; all broke records for the earliest freeze of the season Sept. 7-9.

(MORE: Record September Cold and Snow)

Temperatures at or below 32 degrees are unusual for most of the Lower 48 in early September, but in some of the higher elevations and northern tier, they can occur as early as August. Most locations near the East Coast and in the South have not experienced freezing temperatures until October at the earliest.

Below we take a look at how early temperatures have dropped to 32 degrees in select cities.

Northeast Records

Temperatures have tumbled to 32 degrees or lower as early as September in parts of the Northeast. Caribou, Maine, recorded its earliest freezing temperature on Sept. 3, 1976, but records for most areas from northern New England to upstate New York and western Pennsylvania are in mid-September.

Closer to the coast, freezing temperatures have not been recorded until October. Record earliest freezes occurred on Oct. 5 in Boston (1881) and Philadelphia (1961), while the record for New York City is Oct. 15.

However, Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. all have waited as long as December for their first freezes.

South Records

Midwest Records

Near the Canadian border freezing temperatures have been recorded before meteorological summer ends, on Aug. 31. International Falls, Minnesota, has recorded its first freeze as early as Aug. 20, but experiences its average first freeze around Sept. 14.

Throughout most of the region, the earliest first 32-degree temperature on record is in September, with Cleveland, Ohio, coming in on the later side with a record on Sept. 29 in 1942.

Record-late freezes are in November for many locations. Minneapolis set a record for the latest freezing temperature on Nov. 18, 2016.

West Records

Records for the earliest freeze vary greatly across the West due to the different elevations and climates found in the large region.

Freezing temperatures have been measured as early as late summer in Boise, Idaho, Reno, Nevada, and Flagstaff, Arizona. The average date for the first freeze is late September into early October for much of the interior West.

Some locations, that typically experience a freeze each season, recorded their earliest freeze much later in the season in November, such as Sacramento, California (Nov. 11, 2018).

There are also locations that don't usually see a freeze. Los Angeles is one of those spots, but in 1978 it saw its earliest freeze on record on Dec. 7.

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