So far, winter weather has been mainly confined to the western United States and the Rockies with no accumulating snow reported yet from Chicago to the Ohio Valley. And while this can change rather quickly, it seems that Mother Nature is taking her time transitioning to winter here in the Midwest. However, we all know that the first flakes will eventually fall and it will likely happen sometime this month. The table below shows the average first measurable snow dates along with some record early snow data.
One thing you’ll notice is that the earliest measurable snow from Indianapolis to Columbus was the result of the same storm. In fact, that storm lasted two days and produced a widespread 4 – 8+ inch snowfall for much of the Ohio Valley. So, while the weather can fluctuate quite a bit in the Midwest, winter does arrive very early some years, but average first storm dates are mainly in mid-November with the exception of Cincinnati.
