Don’t Be Shocked If Rochester Sees Snow in October

If you think snow in Rochester only shows up once those Halloween decorations come down, think again. History shows the Med City usually gets a few flakes during Spooky Season, which is something almost scarier than any Halloween costume or horror movie.

Even though it's now likely to happen, seeing as it's October, don't panic just yet-- we don't have any snow in the immediate forecast for southeast Minnesota. In fact, we haven't even heard too much about our first hard frost of the season just yet, either. But it's not necessarily unreasonable to think about snow in October in our neck of the woods. But does Minnesota's Med City usually see its first flakes of the season?

While we did see more snow early in the season last year, our previous winters have been relatively mild. However, it was just four years ago, in the fall of 2022, that Rochester had its first brush with snow on October 14th, when just over a tenth of an inch was recorded at Rochester International Airport (RST).

SEE ALSO: Do You Know When Rochester's Seasonal Parking Rules Go Into Effect?

And, of course, we've all heard about the infamous Halloween Blizzard that hit Minnesota back in 1991, right? Not to mention the few flurries that were spotted right here in Rah-Rah-Rochester in the early morning hours on Halloween 2024.

When Does Rochester Usually Get Its First Snow?

So when DOES our first snowfall usually happen here in Minnesota? Well, it depends on what we're actually calling 'snow'. Reports of flurries, as we had in October 2022, aren't really what the weather folk call 'measurable snow.' So it's kind of a grey area. You might well see some furious flurries, but because it didn't stick on the ground, it doesn't officially count as our first snow.

Remember when Rochester received nearly 18 inches of snow... in May? It happened in 2013. (Curt St John/Townsquare Media)

The Earliest Snowfall Ever Recorded in Rochester

However, to find the earliest ever recorded snowfall in Rochester, we checked in with the National Weather Service (NWS). In a story I wrote about last month, I found out that the earliest date for recorded snowfall in Rochester is September 26, 1942, when between 0.2 and 0.3 inches was reported. And Rochester was lucky to get less than an inch of snow during that freak early-season storm; other parts of Minnesota saw totals around 4 to 5 inches.

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Now, on the other end of the snow spectrum, the NWS reports that the latest in the season RST has seen measurable snow was... December 19th. Now, that seems a little late, doesn't it? I mean, by that point, you're under a week until Christmas-- and hopes of there being a white Christmas are probably getting pretty grim by then.

When Does Rochester Typically Get Measurable Snow?

So while those are the extremes, when do we typically see measurable snow here in Rah-Rah-Rochester? Well, NWS reports that'd be... November 4th, although the average first trace of snowfall usually happens on October 20th. So we definitely have some time yet-- but we're only talking a few weeks, on average.

However, if I were King of the Weather for Southeast Minnesota, I'd pick the weekend before Thanksgiving for our first snow. That way, a little white stuff on the ground heading into the short Thanksgiving week would help us all get in the holiday spirit, but we could still enjoy some genuine Minnesota fall weather up until then.

When would *you* like to see the first snow in Rochester?