‘Astronomical Fall’ Can Mean Winter Weather For Many, Setting A Time Limit For Fall Foliage Adventures

Fall is a time best suited for pumpkin spice lattes and comfortable strolls through trees alight with a myriad of colors… and sometimes snow.

Of course, this is fairly common in many areas since fall technically lasts until late December, but still, it can be a bit of a rude awakening for anyone hoping to truly enjoy the season.

By the end of November, the majority of the northern half of the country has already typically seen its first measurable snowfall of the year, so let’s focus on the period that many consider to be autumn at its best: late September and October.

Late September and October typically bring the first snowfall of the year for the Rockies and across the Central and Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Interior Northeast.

What this means for your fall foliage festivity opportunities: Of course, when it comes to leaf peeping, many of the areas that are the first to receive measurable snowfall are also the first to reach and then pass peak fall foliage colors.

(MORE: Fall Foliage 2025: When The Colorful Display Peaks In The United States)

But remember! Even if you don’t usually get your first snow until things start to feel a little more like the holiday season, you can still see snowflakes before then.

People who live in Reno, NV, may be sitting pretty, expecting no sign of “winter weather” until late November, but 2007 brought snow in late September. And New York City typically sees their first day of at least 0.1 inches of snow on December 7… but the record for the earliest snow was all the way in October (October 15, 1876, to be exact).

Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences along with a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.