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When the First Snow of the Season Typically Falls | The Weather Channel
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When the First Snow of the Season Typically Falls

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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.

Average month of first measurable snow of the season. (Version corrected for the Oregon coast on Sep. 30, 2017)
Month of the average first accumulating (0.1 inch or greater) snowfall of the season, according to 30-year average statistics.
(NOAA/NWS/NCEI)

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 Snow Avg. 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 Snow Avg. 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

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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 Snow Avg. 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 Snow Avg. 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)

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