At a Glance

Cities in the far northern United States and Rockies have seen accumulating snow as early as September.October is the month with the record-earliest measurable snow for many cities in the Midwest and Northeast.Snow has coated the ground in several southern locations during November.

Fall's arrival marks the beginning of increasingly cold air sweeping across the nation, and of course,that means the potential of the first snows in parts of the Lower 48.

How early it can snow in your area depends onsimple factors such as geographic location and elevation as well as weather patterns from year-to-year.

For some, the record earliest snow is in September or even late August, while others haven't seen the firstflakes fly until November.

Plotted on the mapbelow is the month that the earliest measurable snow was recorded for select cities across the Lower 48. The National Weather Service considers measurable snow anaccumulation of 0.1 inches or more.

The colored dots represent the month of the earliest measurable snow for the locations shown.

September

Many locations from the Rockies to thenorthern Plains, northern Great Lakes and northern New England have received their earliest measurable snow in September.

Here are a few of the cities and the specific date of their record earliest accumulating snow:

Denver: Sept. 3, 1961 Billings, Montana: Sept. 7, 1962 Marquette, Michigan: Sept. 13, 1923 Salt Lake City: Sept. 17, 1965 Flagstaff, Arizona: Sept. 19, 1965 Minneapolis/St. Paul: Sept. 24, 1985 Fargo, North Dakota: Sept. 25, 1912 Omaha, Nebraska: Sept. 29, 1985 Burlington, Vermont: Sept. 30, 1992

Although it's not shown on the map, Great Falls, Montana, once receivedmeasurable snow as early as Aug. 22. That happenedin 1992.

October

A slew of cities from the Midwest to the Great Lakes and Northeast have received their record first accumulatingsnow in October.The same weather system was responsible for bringing several cities their earliestsnow in a few instances.

Boston: Oct. 10, 1979 Baltimore: Oct. 10, 1979 Washington: Oct. 10, 1979 Philadelphia: Oct. 10, 1979 Chicago: Oct. 12, 2006 Detroit: Oct. 12, 2006 Pittsburgh: Oct. 18, 1992 Indianapolis: Oct. 18, 1989 Cincinnati: Oct. 19, 1989 New York: Oct. 21, 1952 Seattle: Oct. 27, 1971 Portland, Oregon: Oct. 29, 1935

November

The South is lastwhen it comes to the record earliest measurable snow. Many cities along the Interstate 20 and Interstate 40 corridors have receivedaccumulating snow as early as November.

Imagine kicking off the month with a coating of snow in Dallas-Fort Worthor a 3-inch blanket of snow in the South Carolina capital before Thanksgiving.

Columbia, South Carolina: Nov. 19, 1901 Dallas-Fort Worth: Nov. 2, 1951 Atlanta: Nov. 11, 1968 Raleigh: Nov. 6, 1953 Memphis: Nov. 2, 1951 Richmond, Virginia: Nov. 5, 1962

Of course, all of the dates mentioned above are on the record-breaking early end of the spectrum. The average first accumulating snow typically arrives later in the season, as illustrated by the map below.

Month of the average first accumulating (0.1 inch or greater) snowfall of the season, according to 30-year average statistics. (NOAA/NWS/NCEI)

Much of the Midwest and Northeast see their first measurable snow of the season in November or December.

From the Rockies to the northern Plains and northern Great Lakes, the month of October usually ushers in the first measurable snow.

The South doesn't see accumulating snow every year, but on average, January and February are the most favored months for at least a coating of snow.

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