Snowfall

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 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 ===
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
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