The First "Official" Snow

Some time ago, I forget when exactly, the termination dust first started creeping down from the mountains; and maybe a couple weeks ago, if you lived high enough up on Hillside (i.e. Upper Hillside), you had snow at your house; and maybe even last week, Lower Hillside was getting a little taste of the white stuff. (We're lower than Lower Hillside so we must be "flat".) So it makes one wonder what's considered the first snow of the year. I mentioned something last week and people said, "it's still too early"; "it's not really the first snow". Well I don't think anyone could split hairs this morning: it was definitely on the ground, definitely white, definitely snow. I'm only sorry I didn't take a picture of it because it melted before we got home from gym play. But does it count if it doesn't last overnight? Whatever the "rules", winter has definitely come to Anchorage. (I'm sure it's in places like Nome and Barrow already.)