The Earliest First Snow of the Season Where You Live

Winter Storm

You won't believe how early in the fall, or late summer, it has snowed. We lay out the earliest first measurable snowfalls on record.

ByJon Erdman•October 3, 2014

Record Earliest Measurable Snow in September (or Earlier)

Cities whose record earliest measurable snow occurred in September. (Asterisk around Great Falls, Montana indicates this record earliest snow took place in August).

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The season's first snow. Whether it kindles thoughts of making snowmen, the holidays or the long winter ahead, there's usually a strong reaction to it.

How early in the season it has snowed in your area?

We dug through National Weather Service data on cities from coast to coast, including Alaska. In the tables below and on the following pages, we lay out the earliest first measurable (i.e. at least 0.1 inch of snow) and 1-inch-plus snowfalls on record.

We start with cities that have seen their earliest measurable snow in September, shown as dots in the map above and in the data tables below.

We also have data on cities where the earliest snow on record was in October and November.

(JUMP TO: October | November)

Earliest Measurable Snow in October

Cities whose record earliest measurable snow occurred in October.

Sometimes the season's first wet snow falls before peak fall foliage. The October map above and record tables below bear this out for many cities from southern New England to the Pacific Northwest.

If you look carefully in the tables below, you can pick out notable individual early snowstorms affecting multiple cities. For example, a storm in October 1989 dumped over 9 inches in Indianapolis and about 6 inches in both Chicago and Cincinnati.

And, yes, it has snowed in the Sooner State and the more temperature Pacific Northwest before the kids could say, "trick or treat!"

(JUMP TO: September | November)

Earliest Measurable Snow in November

Cities whose record earliest measurable snow occurred in November.

Typically less snowy cities from Virginia and the Carolinas to the Tennessee Valley and southern Plains don't have to wait until January to see snow. Some have seen at least a dusting of snow just days after Halloween.

Imagine the sight of 5 inches of snow in Dallas-Fort Worth just a couple days after Veterans Day, or a 3-inch blanket of snow in the South Carolina capital before Thanksgiving.

(JUMP BACK: September | October)

(MORE: Winter Storm Central | Dates of Average First Snow | 5 Incredible Snow Extremes)

You won't believe how early in the fall, or late summer, it has snowed. We lay out the earliest first measurable snowfalls on record.

Record Earliest Measurable Snow in September (or Earlier)

Earliest Measurable Snow in October

Earliest Measurable Snow in November

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Deepest Snow in All 50 States