Weather news
First freeze tracker: 9 of 58 big cities in, 22 still late as of Nov 7
By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk · Published · Updated
Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.
What's new: Added our new map of all 58 cities on the tracker
Key points
- Who's in: Wichita, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Providence, Pittsburgh, Albany, Hartford and Denver.
- Who's waiting: 43 cities have not hit 32°F yet. 22 of them are past their normal date. None has set a record wait so far.
- Rare here: Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa. Freezes are rare in those cities, so they aren't counted as waiting.
- What it means: Several tracked climate stations in the Midwest and Great Lakes have run past their normal first-freeze dates. More cities reach their normal dates this week.
Updated 1:30 PM ET Sunday.
Through Saturday, Nov 7, only nine of the 58 big cities we track have had a first freeze this season, and 22 are still waiting past their normal date. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Des Moines and Milwaukee finally got their freezes in the last two days, but Minneapolis-St. Paul and Des Moines got theirs among the latest dates on record. A long list of cities, including Omaha and Grand Rapids, is still freeze-free.
A freeze here means a low of 32°F or colder at the city's official climate station. A hard freeze is 28°F or colder. Daily values are preliminary until NCEI reviews them.
Where all 58 cities stand
Our new map puts every city on the tracker in one place, with a dot for each. You can see at a glance which cities have already had a freeze and which are still waiting.
Who has had a freeze, and how early or late
Four eastern cities and Denver got theirs in mid-October. Denver hit 28°F on Oct 16, 11 days later than normal. Hartford followed on Oct 17 (32°F, 3 days later than normal). Providence, Pittsburgh and Albany all dropped on Oct 18. Providence was 12 days early at 31°F, and Pittsburgh was 1 day early at 32°F. Albany reached 29°F, 6 days later than normal.
The big news is the Plains and Upper Midwest, which waited much longer.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul hit 31°F on Nov 6. That is 26 days later than normal and ties for the 3rd latest first freeze in 153 falls on record.
- Des Moines hit 32°F on Nov 7. That is 23 days later than normal and ties for the 4th latest in 147 falls.
- Milwaukee hit 32°F on Nov 7, 16 days later than normal. It ties for the 14th latest in 155 falls.
- Wichita dropped to 30°F on Nov 7, 11 days later than normal.
Who is still waiting, and how rare it is
The longest waits are in Grand Rapids and Omaha, both 24 days past their normal date of Oct 14. Boise and Chicago are 22 days past Oct 16.
How unusual that is depends on the city.
- Rare: Only 4 of 132 falls since 1892 in Grand Rapids went past Nov 7 without a freeze. Omaha has seen it 7 times in 155 falls, and Boise 7 times in 149.
- Uncommon: Salt Lake City, Detroit and Indianapolis each have a record of roughly one fall in ten or so. That's 12 of 152 falls in Salt Lake City, 14 of 152 in Detroit and 15 of 155 in Indianapolis.
- Not that unusual: Chicago has gone past Nov 7 in 28 of 154 falls. Cincinnati has done it 19 times in 154, and Columbus 17 times in 148.
- Common: In Baltimore it's 66 of 153 falls. In Charlotte it's 73 of 147. Waiting this long is ordinary there.
Other cities past their date, by a smaller margin, include Kansas City, Buffalo, Cleveland, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Raleigh, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Richmond and Albuquerque.
Who is next
Cities with normal dates in the coming days are Boston and Portland (Monday, Nov 9), Philadelphia (Tuesday, Nov 10) and Birmingham (Wednesday, Nov 11). Atlanta, Little Rock and Seattle follow on Nov 14, Austin and Memphis on Nov 15, and Washington, DC on Nov 16. Normal here is the median first date of the 1991-2020 seasons, our own calculation, not an official NOAA normal.
What to do
- If you're in a city still waiting, don't assume the season is over for gardens. Check your local forecast each evening and cover or bring in tender plants on any night near 32°F.
- Drain and put away garden hoses, and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard freeze.
- Check your car's coolant and tire pressure.
- Sign up for Y'all Alerts to get a heads-up when freezing temperatures are in your forecast, and check our winter outlook for the bigger picture.
Bottom line
Nine cities are in the books, four of them in the last two days, and the waits in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Des Moines and Milwaukee were among the longest on record. Grand Rapids, Omaha and Boise are in rare territory, and Chicago and much of the Ohio Valley are late but not unheard of.
| City | Normal | Days past |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids, MI | 24 days | normal Oct 14 |
| Omaha, NE | 24 days | normal Oct 14 |
| Boise, ID | 22 days | normal Oct 16 |
| Chicago, IL | 22 days | normal Oct 16 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 16 days | normal Oct 22 |
| Detroit, MI | 16 days | normal Oct 22 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 16 days | normal Oct 22 |
| Columbus, OH | 13 days | normal Oct 25 |
| Kansas City, MO | 13 days | normal Oct 25 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 12 days | normal Oct 26 |
| Buffalo, NY | 11 days | normal Oct 27 |
| Baltimore, MD | 7 days | normal Oct 31 |
| Cleveland, OH | 7 days | normal Oct 31 |
| St. Louis, MO | 6 days | normal Nov 1 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 5 days | normal Nov 2 |
| Louisville, KY | 5 days | normal Nov 2 |
| Nashville, TN | 5 days | normal Nov 2 |
| Charlotte, NC | 4 days | normal Nov 3 |
| Raleigh, NC | 4 days | normal Nov 3 |
| Tulsa, OK | 4 days | normal Nov 3 |
| City | Date | Vs. normal |
|---|---|---|
| Wichita, KS | Nov 7 (30°F) | 11 days later than normal |
| Milwaukee, WI | Nov 7 (32°F) | 16 days later than normal; tied for the 14th latest in 155 falls on record |
| Des Moines, IA | Nov 7 (32°F) | 23 days later than normal; tied for the 4th latest in 147 falls on record |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | Nov 6 (31°F) | 26 days later than normal; tied for the 3rd latest in 153 falls on record |
| Providence, RI | Oct 18 (31°F) | 12 days earlier than normal |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Oct 18 (32°F) | 1 day earlier than normal |
| Albany, NY | Oct 18 (29°F) | 6 days later than normal |
| Hartford, CT | Oct 17 (32°F) | 3 days later than normal |
| Denver, CO | Oct 16 (28°F) | 11 days later than normal |
First freeze tracker: every big city's date
Explained: What a Freeze Warning means, and how it differs from a Frost Advisory
More on First freeze 2026
Places in this story: Wichita, KS; Milwaukee, WI; Des Moines, IA; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Providence, RI; Pittsburgh, PA; Albany, NY; Hartford, CT; Denver, CO; Grand Rapids, MI; Omaha, NE; Boise, ID
Sources
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station records, NOAA Regional Climate Centers (ACIS)
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