You could almost smell it before you saw it—the crisp, icy hint in the air that says, winter’s on the way. And sure enough, the first flakes of the season have officially fallen in New York.
Whiteface Mountain put on a real show, blanketing itself in a fresh layer of snow.
It’s not unusual for the High Peaks to get a head start on winter, but it’s still a sight that never gets old. After all, that white dusting against the fiery fall colors is peak (no pun intended) Upstate magic.
Late Snow in 2025
This year’s first snowfall came right on the heels of October’s chill—October 22, 2025, to be exact.
For perspective, last year, snow hit the summit of Whiteface much earlier—September 8, 2024. In 2023, we didn’t see flakes until October 16. And in 2022, Mother Nature waited until September 23 to make a winter appearance.
Of course, New Yorkers know better than to rely on the calendar to tell them when winter’s coming. Officially, winter doesn’t begin until December 21. But we’ve all had that Halloween where the kids’ costumes had to stretch over puffy coats and snow pants. (Let’s just say Elsa costumes hold up better in a snowstorm than Spider-Man suits.)
Earliest Snow in NY
Historically, snow has shown up in Central and Upstate New York at some wildly different times.
Lowville still holds the bragging rights for the earliest measurable snowfall—four full inches on October 1, 1944. Syracuse got its first taste just two years later, on October 1, 1946, with 0.6 inches. Forestport saw 1.5 inches on October 14, 1958, and Frankfort got in on the action on October 22, 1988, with 1.1 inches, almost exactly 37 years to the day before this year’s first flakes.
READ MORE: Central New York Braces For Possible Early Winter Surprise
IF you’re curious about how your town stacks up, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has an interactive map where you can see when those first flakes typically fall all across the country. (Spoiler: New York’s dots light up pretty early.)
So here we are again—fall giving way to winter, the smell of wood stoves in the air, and that familiar crunch underfoot that makes everything feel a little quieter. Whether you love it or dread it, there’s no denying it: the first taste of winter has arrived in New York.
Welcome back, snow season. We missed you—kind of.
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