The Day The Temperature Rose 103 Degrees

Are you eager for the first snow of the season? Have you already waxed your skis? Are you dreaming of snow days or dreading shoveling your driveway?

We've researched National Weather Service 30-year average data to find the date by which the season's first measurable snow – defined as 0.1 inch or more – typically occurs to compile the map above.

Keep in mind, these are averages of seasons that include early and late snowfalls. Any given season can produce the season's first snowfall either very early or very late, depending on the weather pattern at the time.

The tables below list average first dates, the earliest first season snow on record, and average seasonal snowfall for a list of cities in each region of the U.S.

For more southern locations, such as Atlanta and Dallas, snow may not fall every season. Therefore, instead of mentioning an average first date of measurable snow, we specify an average timeframe during which you can expect the "best chance" of measurable snow each year.

Northeast

October is typically the month's first snow in the mountains of northern New England, the Adirondacks, and the higher peaks of northwest Pennsylvania and the central Appalachians. Most of the rest of the interior Northeast joins in during November, while the I-95 corridor from Providence, Rhode Island, to Virginia typically waits until December to see their first accumulating snowfall of the season.

 Avg. First Snow By...Earliest First SnowAvg. Season Snow

Caribou

Oct. 23

Sep. 29, 1991

111.8 inches

Burlington

Nov. 4

Sep. 30, 1992

82.2 inches

Syracuse

Nov. 5

Oct. 1, 1946

124.7 inches

Buffalo

Nov. 5

Oct. 6, 1991

92.5 inches

Pittsburgh

Nov. 14

Oct. 18, 1992

41.4 inches

Albany

Nov. 16

Oct. 4, 1987

59.2 inches

Concord

Nov. 22

Oct. 10, 1979

63.5 inches

Charleston

Nov. 24

Oct. 19, 1972

36.2 inches

Hartford

Nov. 28

Oct. 10, 1979

42.8 inches

Boston

Nov. 29

Oct. 10, 1979

43.5 inches

Baltimore

Dec. 14

Oct. 10, 1979

20.1 inches

New York

Dec. 14

Oct. 21, 1952

25.3 inches

Philadelphia

Dec. 17

Oct. 10, 1979

21.8 inches

Washington

Dec. 18

Oct. 10, 1979

15.4 inches

Atlantic City

Dec. 21

Nov. 5, 1973

15.6 inches

Midwest

The season's first snow in the Midwest typically occurs in October along the northern tier of states, from northern Michigan to the western Dakotas.

In November, much of the Ohio Valley, the rest of the Great Lakes, Corn Belt and western Kansas join the ranks.

Parts of eastern and southern Kansas, southern Missouri and the Lower Ohio Valley typically have to wait until December to see their first accumulating flakes.

 Avg. First Snow By...Earliest First SnowAvg. Season Snow

Marquette

Oct. 13

Sep. 13, 1923

203.6 inches

Rapid City

Oct. 16

Sep. 13, 1970

41.6 inches

Int'l Falls

Oct. 18

Sep. 14, 1964

71.8 inches

Duluth

Oct. 21

Sep. 18, 1991

81.5 inches

Bismarck

Oct. 26

Sep. 12, 1903

50.1 inches

Sioux Falls

Oct. 31

Sep. 25, 1939

43.4 inches

Mpls./St. Paul

Nov. 2

Sep. 24, 1985

53.4 inches

Fargo

Nov. 2

Sep. 25, 1912

49.5 inches

Omaha

Nov. 10

Sep. 29, 1985

28.4 inches

Cleveland

Nov. 10

Oct. 2, 2003

68.3 inches

Des Moines

Nov. 10

Oct. 10, 2009

36.8 inches

Milwaukee

Nov. 13

Oct. 6, 1889

49.3 inches

Detroit

Nov. 15

Oct. 12, 2006

43.8 inches

Chicago

Nov. 16

Oct. 12, 2006

37.1 inches

Columbus

Nov. 20

Oct. 10, 1906

27.1 inches

Indianapolis

Nov. 23

Oct. 18, 1989

25.5 inches

Kansas City

Nov. 27

Oct. 17, 1898

18.2 inches

Cincinnati

Nov. 28

Oct. 19, 1989

21.3 inches

St. Louis

Dec. 3

Oct. 20, 1916

17.7 inches

Wichita

Dec. 3

Oct. 22, 1996

15 inches

Louisville

Dec. 8

Oct. 19, 1989

13.4 inches

West

Snow can fall over the highest peaks of the Rockies even in late summer. September snow is considered average in the Washington Cascades, the Bitterroots and highest peaks of Colorado.

Otherwise, October typically heralds the arrival of the season's first flakes in lower elevations of Montana, Wyoming, eastern Idaho, the Wasatch, Colorado's foothills and mountain valleys, and the mountains of northern New Mexico.

November first snow is typical from the plains of southeast Colorado into the rest of northern New Mexico, northeast Arizona (Flagstaff), most of the Great Basin and interior Northwest.

The threat of snow is not usually a factor in places like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, until late December.

 Avg. First Snow By...Earliest First SnowAvg. Season Snow

Fairbanks

Sep. 27

Aug. 29, 1922

64.2 inches

Great Falls

Oct. 2

Aug. 22, 1992

61.6 inches

Cheyenne

Oct. 2

Sep. 8, 1929

60 inches

Crested Butte

Oct. 5

Sep. 3, 1961

206.7 inches

Billings

Oct. 12

Sep. 7, 1962

55.6 inches

Anchorage

Oct. 15

Sep. 20, 1947

74.6 inches

Denver

Oct. 16

Sep. 3, 1961

60.1 inches

Pocatello

Oct. 26

Sep. 16, 1965

43.9 inches

Tahoe City

Oct. 28

Sep. 11, 1952

179 inches

Juneau

Nov. 4

Oct. 2, 2000

84.7 inches

Salt Lake City

Nov. 5

Sep. 17, 1965

56 inches

Flagstaff

Nov. 11

Sep. 19, 1965

96.4 inches

Spokane

Nov. 13

Sep. 23, 1926

45.9 inches

Reno

Nov. 15

Sep. 29, 1982

20.4 inches

Boise

Nov. 19

Oct. 10, 2008

18.8 inches

Big Bear, CA

Nov. 20

Sep. 19, 1989

65.3 inches

Albuquerque

Nov. 20

Oct. 12, 1986

10.3 inches

Amarillo

Nov. 24

Sep. 29, 1984

19.3 inches

El Paso

Dec. 10

Oct. 28, 1980

5.5 inches

Portland, OR

Dec. 23

Oct. 29, 1935

4 inches

Seattle

Dec. 26

Oct. 27, 1971

5.6 inches

South

Yes, parts of the South do occasionally see snow, but not necessarily every year.

The Texas Panhandle and highest elevations of the southern Appalachians are exceptions. You can expect your first snow in November in those areas.

Valley locations of the southern Appalachians, parts of northern and Middle Tennessee, northern Arkansas, central and eastern Oklahoma, as well as much of West Texas north of Interstate 10 will see their first dusting of snow sometime in December, if at all.

For more southern locations, such as Atlanta and Dallas, instead of mentioning an average first date of measurable snow, we specify an average timeframe during which you can expect the "best chance" of measurable snow each year, defined by the average first and last dates of measurable snow. This is typically in January and February from the Carolinas to north Texas.

 Highest Chance of SnowAvg. Season Snow

Norfolk

Jan. 17 - Feb. 22

4.7 inches

Raleigh

Jan. 4 - Feb. 14

5.9 inches

Charlotte

Jan. 18 - Feb. 7

4.2 inches

Columbia

Jan. 26 - Feb. 4

1.5 inches

Atlanta

Jan. 21 - Feb. 8

2.6 inches

Birmingham

Jan. 29 - Feb. 9

1.6 inches

Knoxville

Jan. 3 - Feb. 18

6.4 inches

Nashville

Dec. 30 - Feb. 27

5 inches

Memphis

Jan. 12 - Feb. 9

3.7 inches

Little Rock

Jan. 13 - Feb. 8

3.5 inches

Tulsa

Dec. 15 - Feb. 22

9.7 inches

Oklahoma City

Dec. 13 - Feb. 15

8 inches

Dallas

Jan. 13 - Feb. 9

1.7 inches

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Deep Snow Around the World (PHOTOS)