4 Regions Most Likely to See Their First Snowfall in November
With all the changing foliage and cozy aesthetics, it’s perfectly normal to want fall to last as long as possible. Unfortunately, Mother Nature might have other plans for your area, as several parts of the country will get an early winter arrival. And it could mean you’ll be grabbing your snowboots and snow shovel before long. If you’re already worried about the white stuff, data and forecasts are helping to pinpoint which regions are the most likely to see their first snowfall of the season in November.
RELATED: 3 Regions Where Winter Will Arrive Earlier Than Usual This Year.
1. The Northeast
It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the corner of the U.S. known for its picturesque winter beauty often gets a head start on winter. Much of northern New England, Upstate New York, and western and central Pennsylvania typically get at least a little dusting in November, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC).
On average, cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, and Albany in New York tend to get their first measurable snowfall before December, along with Burlington, Vermont; Concord, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; and Charleston, West Virginia.
Locations further north tend to get even more accumulation. NRCC data shows that the first inch of snow falls in November in places like Erie, Pennsylvania; Caribou, Maine; and many of the other New York and New England cities previously mentioned. Of course, the white stuff can jump the gun some years and land even earlier in the season, with some parts of northern New England seeing dustings as early as October.
RELATED: The #1 Sign Your Region Is About to Get Its First Hard Freeze.
2. The Midwest
The same frigid expectations for the Northeast often also extend to the Midwest, where November snow is the average norm.
Most of Ohio, southern Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, southern Minnesota, all of Iowa, western South Dakota, western Nebraska, most of Kansas, and northern Missouri all see snow on average before December, according to the Weather Channel, based on data compiled by the National Weather Service (NWS) from 1991 to 2020.
3. The Southwest
While most of the Rockies tend to get their first snowfall out of the way by September or October, the region just to the south gets going in November. The first 0.1 inch of snow or more tends to fall in places like north Texas, northern and central New Mexico, northern Arizona, much of Utah, and central Nevada before the end of the month, per the Weather Channel.
RELATED: 34 States That Will Have Unusually Hot Falls This Year.
4. The Pacific Northwest
Known for their damp climates but relatively mild temperatures, there are still parts of the northwesternmost corner of the contiguous U.S. Specifically, central and eastern Washington and northern Oregon will likely see their first snowflakes, per the Weather Channel.