Topic
First freeze 2026
Every story from the Ryan Hall, Y'all news desk on First freeze 2026, newest first: 4 stories so far, the latest updated November 8, 2026, 3:16 PM ET.
The latest: Through Saturday, Nov 7, nine of the 58 big cities we track have had a first freeze, and 22 are still waiting past their normal date. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Des Moines and Milwaukee just joined, with two of them among the latest first freezes on record. Boston, Portland, Philadelphia and Birmingham reach their normal dates over the next few days.
Live data: First freeze tracker: every big city
Stories
- First freeze tracker: 9 of 58 big cities in, 22 still late as of Nov 7
Through Saturday, Nov 7, nine of the 58 big cities we track have had a first freeze, and 22 are still waiting past their normal date. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Des Moines and Milwaukee just joined, with two of them among the latest first freezes on record. Boston, Portland, Philadelphia and Birmingham reach their normal dates over the next few days.
- Midwest's first freeze came historically late; Chicago, Detroit still waiting
Minneapolis, Des Moines and Fort Wayne had one of their five latest first freezes on record this week, and Cincinnati hit 31 this morning. Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, St. Louis, Omaha and Grand Rapids still haven't frozen. A colder pattern arrives late this week, but we don't have city-by-city lows for it yet.
- First freeze looks likely next weekend in Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville
Chicago, Indianapolis and Nashville have a good shot at their first 32-degree reading of the fall Saturday or Sunday morning, Nov. 14-15. Cincinnati also has a 65% chance, though a 32-degree reading Sunday may become its first freeze if confirmed. St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha are closer to even, while odds remain very low in the Deep South.
- Big cities had yet to freeze as weekend cold approached
Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo had not hit 32 degrees as of Ryan's Thursday video, the latest start to freezing weather for that group since 1900. A cold push out of Canada was expected to test that streak this weekend, though some cities could still dodge it. Our outlooks show no significant winter weather for the Midwest or East through Monday.