Snow day: This is when Edmonton usually gets its first snowfall

Edmonton has lucked out with a pretty stunning September and October this year, and it sure has been nice with no fear of an early dump of snow coming.

With all the warmth, it got us thinking: when does the season’s first significant snowfall tend to occur in Edmonton?

Well, we reached out to the experts at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and they combed through the past 10 years of data, and some of the facts may surprise you.

You might even remember some of the years when YEG got a wickedly early dump of snow or the years when it arrived blissfully later than usual.

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How much snow must fall to make it count?

Around two centimetres of snow is the official first significant snowfall event, according to ECCC.

So, let’s take a look at when the first significant snow event was recorded at the Edmonton International Airport over the past 10 years.

2012: October 10, when 3.4 centimetres fell
2013: November 2, when 7.8 centimetres fell
2014: September 8, when 4.4 centimetres fell
2015: November 23, when 6.2 centimetres fell
2016: October 7, when 2.8 centimetres fell
2017: September 19, when 4.8 centimetres fell
2018: September 12, when 5 centimetres fell
2019: November 5, when 3 centimetres fell
2020: October 16, when 2.2 centimetres fell
2021: November 15, when 4 centimetres fell
2022: November 1, when 4.4 centimetres fell

Oh, and the latest time of measurable snow to ever fall in Edmonton? That happened in 2008, when the white stuff didn’t show up until December 2.

There you have it. As of writing, Edmonton has beaten out six of the previous 10 years when it comes to the first significant snowfall event; let’s see if it will last into November like it did last year.