Where September Snow Is Typical In The US

S​eptember snow can be a sharp reality check in a few parts of the U.S. even as many others still bask in summer weather.

R​ecent dustings: Early Thursday morning, parts of the highest elevations of the Rockies in Colorado were dusted with light snow, including Berthoud Pass west of Denver and Pikes Peak west of Colorado Springs.

I​n late August, light snow blanketed parts of western Montana and California's Mt. Shasta.

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Where it's more typical: There are several locations in the U.S. where September snow occurs just often enough to not be considered a freak event. M​ost, but not all, of these locations are in the mountains.

W​e examined snowfall data from the National Weather Service to find first-order observing stations which average at least 0.1 inches of snow in September, including parts of New England, the Great Lakes, Plains, Rockies, West and Alaska. Data from Mount Washington, New Hampshire, was provided by the Mount Washington Observatory.

O​ther locations have received snow in September, but not frequently enough to register a 30-year average of more than a trace.

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L​et's break down the details by region.

W​est

On average, some locations in western Montana, Wyoming and Colorado see their first measurable snow of the season in September. That's not only the higher mountain peaks, but also the adjacent Front Range, including Denver.

Four years ago, an early September snowstorm dumped snow from Montana to New Mexico. Denver picked up an inch of snow on Sept. 8 from that event, just days after the city hit an all-time September record high of 101 degrees. At least nine locations had their earliest snowfall on record from this system, including Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado.

Farther west, t​he Washington and Oregon Cascades usually experience their first snow of the season in September, but even areas that typically wait until later in the fall have picked up measurable snow in September.

A​laska

A​s you probably guessed, snow in September is fairly common in parts of northern and interior Alaska.

Snow doesn't fall every September in Fairbanks, but the 30-year average for the month is 2.3 inches, and that was how much the city received in September 2021, the last time it snowed there during the month.

The last time more than a trace of snow fell in Anchorage in September was in 2015, when 2.8 inches was measured.

A​nd in America's northernmost town, Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow), measurable snow can happen every month of the year.

P​lains & Midwest

T​he first measurable snow of the season for areas from western Nebraska into North Dakota, northern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan usually takes place in October. Much of the Midwest, however, typically waits until November for the first flakes to accumulate.

But snow does occur in September some years. Duluth, Minnesota, averages 0.1 inches of snow in September, but the last time there was measurable snow in the first month of fall was in 2012. Goodland, Kansas, meanwhile, measured half an inch of snow four years ago on Sept. 9, 2020, as part of the early September record snowfall mentioned previously.

N​ortheast

T​he mountains of New England, the Adirondacks, the higher elevations of northwestern Pennsylvania and the central Appalachians typically receive the first measurable snow of the season in October, but some locations in these areas have seen snow in September.

However, m​ost of the region usually waits until November or December for the first accumulating snowfall.

T​he record for September snow on Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, is 7.8 inches in 1949.

O​ther September Snow-tables

• Minneapolis/St. Paul: Measurable snow as early as Sept. 24, 1985 (0.4 inches); also 1.7 inches on Sept. 26, 1942.
• Omaha, Nebraska: Picked up 0.3 inches of snow on Sept. 29, 1985.
• Amarillo, Texas: It snowed 0.3 inches on Sept. 29, 1984.
• Kenton, Oklahoma: This panhandle town measured 3 inches of snow on Sept. 18, 1971, five days before summer officially ended.
• Salt Lake City: Picked up 2.2 inches of snow on Sept. 17, 1965.
• Flagstaff, Arizona: Two inches of snow fell on Sept. 19, 1965.
• Reno, Nevada: Picked up 1.5 inches of snow on Sept. 29, 1982.