Snow in Flint: What is the Earliest Date It’s Ever Happened?

There's no denying it. Before you know it we'll be donning winter coats, digging out the shovels, and rediscovering our winter driving skills. Winter is on the way, but how early is too early?

Snow in October

The idea of seeing snow tomorrow morning (10/18) seems a little daunting, doesn't it? While the Flint area may indeed see some snow mixing with rain, we'll likely see little to no accumulation because the ground is still quite warm. That, however, is a stark contrast to what Michigan's Upper Peninsula folks are seeing right now. The prediction for the Wester UP is up to 12 inches of snow, with higher elevations getting in the neighborhood of 16 to 24 inches.

Yes, it is just the second half of October!

via GIPHY

 But How Early is Too Early?

We did a little research to determine the earliest date the Flint area has seen snow. And by 'research,' we mean we did a Google search and pored through the data on theNational Weather Service's website to find some interesting stats.

The Flint area has seen snow as early as October 12 - that's right, in the first half of October. It was in 2006 when we saw Flint's first measurable snowfall and one inch of snow on the ground, according to the National Weather Service. 

Flint shares those stats with neighbors to the north and south as the earliest measurable snowfall on record for Saginaw and Detroit is also October 12, 2006.

If you're looking for the earliest instance of snow that netted us three inches or more, you have to reach back to October 19, 1989.

First snowfall data in Michigan is based on information provided by the National Weather Service, which began keeping records in the late 1800s.