Does it snow in October?

The answer is yes, it can, and yes, it does.

You might be the type of person who feels that anything, but summer is winter. If that’s the case, you probably don't want to be reminded that summer ended a few days ago. You typically turn a blind eye to the leaves falling off trees, you continue wearing those sandals you’ve been wearing all summer (maybe with a pair of socks underneath though) ignoring the cold mornings and evenings we're now starting to get, and more importantly you are not mentally preparing yourself for the first snow falls ahead.

On the other spectrum, you may be that person who's celebrating the fall and the return of cold days, and you cannot wait for the first snowflakes! You enjoy the smell of sweet cinnamon a little too much, you probably already went apple and pumpkin picking with your friends and family, you started the seasonal deep house cleaning right after Labor Day weekend was over to get ready in time for Thanksgiving. Bring on the comfy socks and hooded sweatshirts!

Either way, since that record blizzard in October 2011, we all ask ourselves that same question each year, could snow fall again in October in New England this season?

October 30, 2020, was the last time we got plowable snow in Massachusetts, recording 6.5 inches in Worcester, 6 inches in Westborough, and 5.8 in Millbury, according to the National Weather Service. Prior to that was the surprising 2011 Halloween nor'easter, that took place on October 29 & 30 of that year, at the end of a warm month.

Weather-us states that "October is the first month it typically snows. Throughout October, in the average 0.1 snowfall days, it receives 0.12" (3mm) of snow."

As we know, it doesn’t need to snow for a property to need deicing services to reduce the risk of liability and to keep it safe from slip and falls.

So, whether you like snow not, it’s better to be ready than sorry! Are you ready?