Historical first snows of the year

If you love snow, this is your week. Getting measurable snow in October isn’t that strange, but it is rare for us to get snow twice by Halloween. In any case, we’re going to be ahead of the average when it comes to the first measurable snow (one-tenth of an inch) as well as the first inch of snow.

The average date of the first measurable snow in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo is November 14. It’s November 15 in Dubuque, and December 3 in Iowa City.

The average date for the first inch of snow is November 26 in Waterloo, November 29 in Dubuque, December 5 in Cedar Rapids, and December 6 in Iowa City.

Wondering about the earliest ones on record?

The earliest measurable snow in Cedar Rapids happened on September 26, 1942. Dubuque and Waterloo both had theirs on October 10, 1932. For Iowa City, it’s October 18, 1972.

The earliest inch of snow happened on October 18, 1972 in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Waterloo had its happen on October 18, 1991. Dubuque’s was October 19, 1976.