Shovels out: This is when Edmonton usually gets its first snow of the year
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 our minds at ease with no snow in sight, 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), who 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.
How much snow must fall to make it count?
Around 2 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.
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
2023: October 23, when 2.5 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 four of the previous 10 years when it comes to the first significant snowfall event; let’s see if we will get an October dusting of snow like last year, or if our luck will run through into November.