What Does Winter’s First Snow Feel Like?

[Palanan]

I’d like to hear from those who live in the north—at least, north enough that winter is a prolonged state of being rather than an occasional visitor.

I’d like a sense of what that first snow, or the first freeze, really feels like, in the air and in the atmosphere of where you live. I’m open to hearing from every northern region and frigid clime; I’d just like to hear what it’s like when late-autumn chill finally slips into the first white folds of winter, and when you know there's long months of it ahead.

[AuthorGirl]

I’d like to hear from those who live in the north—at least, north enough that winter is a prolonged state of being rather than an occasional visitor.

I’d like a sense of what that first snow, or the first freeze, really feels like, in the air and in the atmosphere of where you live. I’m open to hearing from every northern region and frigid clime; I’d just like to hear what it’s like when late-autumn chill finally slips into the first white folds of winter, and when you know there's long months of it ahead.

Ooh, it's one of the best feelings in the world. I will now make an attempt at adequate description.

First of all, where I live (British Columbia, Canada), there are multiple false starts before the real winter. That's when I wake up in the morning and look out the window to an expanse of white, rush outside to check, and find out that it's barely a centimeter deep. That snow doesn't last until lunchtime.

Then there's the snowfall that actually starts winter, which we get after three or four trick ones. In the morning, the first thing I notice is the light: it's colder and a little bit more blue than usual. The second thing I notice is the lack of noises from outside: they're all muffled because, well, snow. Relatively piercing birdsong would still be clearly audible from indoors, but I find everything's under a (self-imposed?) hush after winter's first real snowfall . . . (this snowfall is usually about 7 cm. thick.)

There's nothing quite like the first step outside, the snow like a foreign world, it's hard not to run headlong into the cold air - and the snow compacts under my feet and I want to dance. (Snow compacting underfoot is often described as crunching, but the first snowfall is usually too light and fluffy to make much noise, so it just squishes.) There's always a sense of being somewhere solemn - that's probably from the lack of animals moving around - but also hidden, so a little bit of scatterbrained fluttering can be okay. I stare up at the sky (suddenly a deeper and more vivid blue than in late autumn), spin around, watch the white and blue run together and settle out, laugh a little just for sheer joy. The feeling hasn't dulled a bit since I was in elementary school.

The air is still, so I notice the faint breeze from every movement. It gives me energy. It smells crisp and clean (not like rotting leaves anymore) and I gulp it through my mouth. It tastes a little bit like snow.

That brings me to the taste of snow. It doesn't taste exactly like water, though that's all it is - and no, that's not because it's dirty; where I live, there's very little air pollution for snowflakes to trap. It tastes crisp.

The snow is painfully bright in the middle of the day: I have to squint so hard I can barely see. It's a study in pale colours: stabbing gold and silver sparkles, that blazing white, soft blue shadows. I could drown in those blue shadows. The cold air tingles across my skin and the snow crunches (it does crunch now, probably because it's a little bit melted). The birds and other small animals are still quiet.

*shakes head briskly* I could go on, but I'd probably start repeating myself. Hopefully this gives you some idea of how the first snow feels, both emotionally and physically.

[Recherché]

I have to say my reaction is usually "Oh bugger did it have to be this soon" Snow means I can't ride my bike to work anymore and the roads and sidewalks will likely be icy. It's a lot more dangerous and annoying than enchanting most of the time. (I live in a very hilly area so people on flat ground may have fewer problems with having car wrecks every first snow)

There are some mornings when the world is beautiful in its starkness but they aren't often first snow. First snow tends to be a slushy mess that melts in a few hours not the crisp stuff you get in deep winter. It's still too warm during the day for the pretty stuff most of the time. I will second the brightness; sometimes winter is dark but the sun glinting off snow covered hills is brighter than a beach on a sunny summer day. The days of deep winter when everything is covered do tend to have a peculiar scent, something crisp and clean that's almost an absence of scent and almost a scent in and of itself. The most beautiful thing in winter for me is hoarfrost not snow really. Hoarfrost is frozen fog and as it passes by in the night it will coat everything it touches with a layer of clear ice. It Mae's the world look like a glass sculpture of itself the next morning. Something beautiful and sterile like a flower preserved in amber.

Anyways first snow in the Palouse tends not to be excessively beautiful, just inconvenient. You have to wait a few weeks till you get the picturesque landscapes and even then the beauty is strongly tempered with a knowledge of its dangers.

[Telonius]

I’d like to hear from those who live in the north—at least, north enough that winter is a prolonged state of being rather than an occasional visitor.

I’d like a sense of what that first snow, or the first freeze, really feels like, in the air and in the atmosphere of where you live. I’m open to hearing from every northern region and frigid clime; I’d just like to hear what it’s like when late-autumn chill finally slips into the first white folds of winter, and when you know there's long months of it ahead.

Originally from Erie, PA here - first snow, so we're talking around Halloween-ish (at least when I was a kid; I expect it's happening later now). First, for kids, there's the glum realization that the "heavy jacket" alterations that your parents built into your costume will have to be used. There's a metal tang to the air, both from the weather and from the (very fine) layer of salt they put down just to make sure they look like they're ready for it, even though they all know it'll turn to slush within ten minutes of driving. Boots and winter coats are brought up from the basement or down from the attic, or wherever you're keeping them. The leaves have been down for a while, but there are a few people who'd put it off who are scrambling last-minute to rake their lawns before it's under the white stuff until April. The Lake gets that subtle change in color, losing just a tiny bit of green and gaining a tan or gray. Not a huge difference, but it's noticeable. The clouds that come across the Lake are different, too. In Millcreek, the suburb that surrounds Erie, it's stay-at-home weather now. There aren't any sidewalks, so you're confined to your house or wherever your parents take you. Walking on the road is treacherous, and walking on the snow (even with boots) is soggy or freezing, depending on what part of the season you're in.

But probably the biggest difference is the darkness. The sky is never exactly bright around the Lake, but it's really a shade or two darker now. You know that the streets are going to look very dark until after Thanksgiving, when people can respectably put up their Christmas lights. It's not exactly sinister, but you know the land is about ready to go to sleep; and the city is decidedly not a morning person. Anybody with SAD is in a horrible funk, and everybody's a bit grouchier than usual.

[Scarlet Knight]

Here the first snow fall may vary by months. If before Halloween, yeah, it's a bummer. But if it waits until after the leaves have fallen, then it's magical! The whole world covered in powdered sugar; with the idea that solid snow falls down from the heavens, created out of thin air!

[Honest Tiefling]

I used to live in an area where it occasionally snowed, so this might be helpful, might not. Not really sure I can beat Authorgirl's reaction. Anywho, one thing I've noted were animals reactions. I didn't live in a Northern climate where snows were heavy or guaranteed each year. So when it did snow, a lot of animals went quiet. Many cats didn't want to go outside, even if the dogs did want to play. Suspiciously, few people in Washington want to wake up early to take their dogs out to get messy.

I think I remember a lot of birds not making bird calls, but I could be wrong. I do clearly remember that the squirrels seemed far less active. I still remember the angry honking of the Canada geese as they huddled for warmth. They seemed pretty annoyed at the snow, actually.

[Knaight]

Putting aside the feeling of impending doom, and the surge of hope that maybe it's not really winter, just a cold day in the fall and it will warm up soon (Colorado temperatures can vary a lot even over a day) it's unpleasant. Everything feels cold, walking is suddenly a trudge because there's always somebody who didn't shovel, biking's a trudge because all the snow in the roads inevitably ends up in the bike lanes, and you have to deck yourself out in cold weather gear that is deeply uncomfortable until you get used to it again. Snow is terrible, and the knowledge that there's going to be a lot of it worse.

[lio45]

I’d like to hear from those who live in the north—at least, north enough that winter is a prolonged state of being rather than an occasional visitor.

I’d like a sense of what that first snow, or the first freeze, really feels like, in the air and in the atmosphere of where you live. I’m open to hearing from every northern region and frigid clime; I’d just like to hear what it’s like when late-autumn chill finally slips into the first white folds of winter, and when you know there's long months of it ahead.

As others have said, the feeling really depends on the time of year and context.

If it's unseasonally early, people generally will dislike it and complain. On the other hand, if we're getting close to Christmas and lawns are still green (possible but rare here in Quebec) it will be welcomed.

There's usually a major difference between people's attitudes regarding snow with the cutoff at the Holidays. For ordinary people (those who aren't big winter sports enthusiasts), snow is fine before Christmas, then after that we're cursing winter, heading to Florida or the Caribbean for vacations, and saying spring can't be here too soon.

[Knaight]

There's usually a major difference between people's attitudes regarding snow with the cutoff at the Holidays. For ordinary people (those who aren't big winter sports enthusiasts), snow is fine before Christmas, then after that we're cursing winter, heading to Florida or the Caribbean for vacations, and saying spring can't be here too soon.

I like in Colorado, so ordinary people are big winter sports enthusiasts - and as the one person in the state who doesn't like skiing or snowboarding, I'm much more hostile to snow than most.

[lio45]

I like in Colorado, so ordinary people are big winter sports enthusiasts - and as the one person in the state who doesn't like skiing or snowboarding, I'm much more hostile to snow than most.

In my mid-twenties I somewhat quickly moved from having lots of free time for winter sports and no worries, to owning a lot of old downtown 1800s mixed use real estate in a midsized Quebec city and having little free time, and my attitude towards winter got completely different - that season became something you dread and need to prepare for, and which will give you all kinds of problems.

[The Extinguisher]

I would like to +1 all of the feelings of dread.

One thing about the first snowfall, when it actually sticks around and its everywhere is how much brighter everything is. Snow reflects a lot of light, and winter with no snow is dark and cold. When there is snow on the ground though, it really brightens a day. Thats the only positive thing I can really say about it.

[Jay R]

I live in Texas now, but I've lived in Cleveland and upsate New York, and I was born in Vermont.

Well, obviously, it's cold. And wet, when it lands on your face. But there is also often an undescribable bite to the air, which is now much drier than it has been.

The first snow that coats the ground changes the look of everything. It's a different place.

Also, it's new. Yes, you've done it before - but there's been a long period of warmth lately, which hass been slowly fading, and you now can't deny it - "Winter is coming". [Using that as the motto of a northern House is one of the most realistic aspects of Game of Thrones.

It's beautiful, but it's also a herald. Shift gears, prepare for the siege.

[thorgrim29]

I'm not really a winter sports type so variations on ''Oh crap here we go for 5 or 6 months'' mainly for me. I will say that the first big snowfall (usually in february) evokes the ''everything is calm and winter wonderland-y'' feelings some people mention but the first month or so of winter is all about brown slush everywhere, slippery roads, and never knowing which degree of winter coat to wear, etc...

Also, Lio, there's still that sort of real estate outside of Quebec city and Montreal? Where?

[2D8HP]

As a little boy I saw snow for a couple of days in 1976.

It was a very big deal, I wonder if it will happen again in my lifetime?


http://snowbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/snow-article-ski.jpg

https://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/bay-area-snow.jpg?w=420&h=1&crop=1

https://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/bay-area-snow-5.jpg?w=386&h=1&crop=1

Normally winter means rain (or just day long fog).

We usually do have a couple of nights of freezing temperature (and I try to remember to valve off and drain the backyard hose bibs so the pipes don't burst).

But snow in town?

A fading memory.

[Sapreaver]

Live in southern manitoba and it varies -10 to 20c is nice its like taking a hot shower and stepping out of the bathroom door. That brisk cool refreshing feeling. Other times in the -25 to 35c range ita like being stabbed in the face you can feel it tightening your skin in the most unpleasent of ways. With wind chill we occasionally get -50 to 55c which makes everything basically shut down. No one will be out on the street your car is like a frozen tomb when you get in. Its what hell would be if it froze over. Yea the cold isn't all that fun since where I live its the latter 2. For3 to 4 months of our winter season

As for snow early in the season its nice fluffy fun stuff. But after a while it gets packed down in to super hard ice that is a pain to clear. We get enough here that sometimes our snow hills in the city sometimes get so big the pile lasts through the spring summer and fall right to the next winter.

[A.A.King]

There really is nothing good about first snow, or just you know, snow in general. Sure, for children it is fun because all can think about is playing in the snow but for those of us who actually have to go places (and have to be there on time) it's nothing but a pain. Luckily for me 'snow' used to be a lot more common in my youth than it is now (though those days of having to cycle miles through snow to get to my High School were no fun at all) so my reaction to 'first snow' when it does happen now is "Ah crap, I really hoped we would skip that this year".

[lio45]

Also, Lio, there's still that sort of real estate outside of Quebec city and Montreal? Where?

In downtown Sherbrooke obviously ;-)

(Also, it's a certainty you've passed in front of several of my buildings many times in your life - small world!)