first snow mammoth lakes fall 2017
It's snowing in the Sierra. Then again, when isn't it snowing in the Sierra?

Mammoth Lakes got more than a dusting Thursday in the first snowfall of the season, with three inches reported in the village. Snow coated the roads so heavily that the plows were out, and locals left footprints on sidewalks.

The snow comes about a month earlier than usual and arrives just as the aspen are beginning to turn. By mid-afternoon Thursday, the snow still coated the village and temps had dropped into the mid-30s. Warmer weather was forecast for the weekend, with highs in the 50s and nighttime lows in the 20s.

The Eastern Sierra seems to have a jump-start on wintery weather, following the last, epic season. Beginning Jan. 3, the resort town of 8,200 saw a string of blizzards leave a total of 40 feet of snow.

Thursday's early snow also reached north to Lake Tahoe, where crews prepping for the new ski season were powdered with a couple inches.