First Accumulating Snow Can Happen Just Weeks From Now in Some U.S. Cities

Chris Dolce
Published: August 19,2016
The earliest that accumulating snow can fall in some U.S. cities is just weeks away, though it may be hard to believe given it's mid-August.
Based on history, September is when several western and northern cities in the Lower 48 have seen their earliest first accumulating snow of the season.
Accumulating snow is defined by what the National Weather Service refers to as measurable snow, an accumulation of 0.1 inch or greater.
(MORE: Winter Storm Central)

Our interactive map below shows the earliest accumulating snow on record for select U.S. cities. Click on the various snowflake icons to reveal more information. 

Locations in light blue had their earliest accumulating snow in September. For the cities in red it occurred in October.
One location, Great Falls, Montana, has received accumulating snow as early as August. Many mountain areas of the West can also get snow in August.

In a few cities, the earliest first snow of record occurred in recent years.

Plotted on this map is the date of when the average first measurable snow occurs. As you would suspect, this is later on the calendar than the earliest first snow of record.
(NOAA)

For Chicago and Detroit, the earliest first accumulating snow fell on Oct. 12, 2006. Cleveland's earliest first snow happened a few years earlier on Oct. 2, 2003.
Several cities along the nation's northern tier saw their earliest first accumulating snow in the early 1990s, including Caribou, Maine, Burlington, Vermont, and Duluth, Minnesota.
Of course, this is on the extreme end of when the first measurable snow can fall. To see the average first arrival of the season's first accumulating snow, see the link below.
(MORE: When the First Snow of the Season Typically Falls)
If you are a winter weather lover, you may be excited that season's first snow could be just weeks or a month or two away. Until then, quench your snow appetite with some photos from last season's Winter Storm Jonas.

Photos: Winter Storm Jonas Buries the East in January 2016