First Snow Of The Season Is Falling In Parts Of The Midwest, Northeast, Including Heavy Lake-Effect Snow

Parts of the Midwest and East saw their first snow of the season, including bands of heavy lake-effect snow that could lead to accumulations and travel issues in the Great Lakes and northern New England snow belts.

This snowy forecast is driven by a powerful but short-lived cold spell that will affect the Midwest, South and East. Read more about cold forecasts in our forecast. Here.

Snow timing

– Weekend recap: Parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa reported 1 to 6 inches of snowfall, enough to cause minor delays and impacts Saturday. Parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula received 8 to 10 inches of snow on Sunday. Severe problems were reported on I-94 in Indiana with slick roads.

People often have to relearn how to drive in winter conditions when the first snowfall of the season occurs.

– Sunday evening to Monday: Lake-effect snow bands span at least the western Great Lakes snow belts, including Michigan, Indiana, and possibly parts of Chicagoland. Lake effect snow may develop later over the eastern lakes snow belts in northern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. Snow showers could also spread across the western Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley and the central and southern Appalachians.

The National Weather Service office in Chicago warns of “life-threatening travel conditions.” During the morning's forecast discussion, they explained, “Where the snow bands are most intense, snow totals are expected to be 12 to 18 inches with a ceiling of 2 to 4 feet if the snow bands eventually stall.”

They warn that the heaviest snow accumulations could occur in Cook County Sunday night into Monday morning.

– Monday – Tuesday: Lake effect snow may continue in the Great Lakes and then gradually decrease from west to east. Remaining snow is possible in the Adirondacks of upstate New York, the high elevations of northern New England and the Appalachians.

(CARDS: Daily rain and snow forecast for the USA)

How much snow?

Light quantities

For most, accumulating snow will be light, on the order of an inch or less, and mostly on grassy areas and vehicle roofs. This includes any accumulations on the Illinois side of Chicagoland, the Northern Plains and other lower elevations outside the Great Lakes snow belts.

While roads in these areas may remain wet during the day as falling snow melts on the warm ground, roads can become slippery at night as temperatures drop and any falling snow begins to accumulate on sidewalks, especially on bridges and overpasses.

More significant savings

Great Lakes snow belts from Michigan to northern Indiana, northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, southwestern New York, as well as the highlands of West Virginia, upstate New York and northern New England could see several inches of snow accumulations Tuesday.

This could be enough to cause roads to become slushy and slippery by Sunday evening and Monday, especially at night. Keep this in mind when heading to work in these areas on Monday and Tuesday.

It wouldn't be surprising if you see a few narrow bands of snow accumulations up to a foot or more in some places. These are difficult to pinpoint because they depend on wind direction, but some locations in and around Chicago and Buffalo could see a little more snow than their immediate neighbors.

(MORE: What's the weather like in November?)

How early will the first snow fall?

For many areas that receive their first snowfall of the season—at least 0.1 inch—November is typically the month when that happens.

This includes Buffalo (Nov. 8), Chicago (Nov. 18) and Detroit (Nov. 19), according to NOAA's 30-year averages.

This “first snow” is arriving a little late in some parts of the Northern Plains. In Bismarck, North Dakota, the first 0.1 inch of snowfall typically occurs by October 28th, which is about 3 to 4 inches behind the seasonal average snowfall rate through November 5th.

(MORE: When do you usually see your first snow?)

What do you think about snow in the forecast? Leave us a reaction and comment below. We'd like to hear from you.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at Weather.com. He has been covering weather domestically and internationally since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather conditions are his favorite topics. Contact him at bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) And Facebook.