Animal Crossing: When It Will Start Snowing

Animal Crossing: New Horizons continues the series tradition of changing the town along with the seasons, with December Animal Crossing snow on the horizon for players in the Northern Hemisphere. As the winter holidays approach, the presence of snow on the islands both help put players in the festive mood and introduces new activities and items only obtainable when it’s snowy in New Horizons. Some in-game events, plants, bugs, and fish can only appear once the island has gotten snowy, which brings to question when players can expect a blanket of snow over their islands.

Animal Crossing games are real-time, matching the in-game dates and times with dates and times on the system calendar and clock. This allows for the changing of the seasons, recently seen in Animal Crossing as the leaves changed color for autumn. This allows for New Horizons to feel more like a yearlong game for players to continue returning to, rather than a game that should be finished.

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, December means the game is now entering the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. As many await the real-world snowfall in this area, many players are also waiting for the snowfall to finally come to Animal Crossing, alongside all the in-game content that comes with it. Players in this hemisphere will not have to wait long, however, as the snowfall across Animal Crossing islands can be expected in about a week.

Animal Crossing Winter Starts on December 10th

New Horizons players with islands set to the Northern Hemisphere can expect an island full of snow in Animal Crossing by December 10th this year. Active players may have noticed the grass on the island slowly turning yellow, which in the seasonal cycle of Animal Crossing is a sure sign of an approaching snow. Patches of white snow will appear first, leading to the full coverage on the island come December 10th, just two weeks before Animal Crossing’s Christmas event on December 24th.

The official arrival of the winter season isn’t just for aesthetic purposes either. Plenty of gameplay mechanics are added or changed when Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ snow covers the ground. Players can craft special winter DIY recipes, as well as make snowballs, catch snowflakes in bug catching nets, and even build snowmen! Special DIY recipes are obtained exclusively from Snowboy, a talking snowman players can create from rolling two large snowballs together. Players who haven’t received the recipe for the Snowflake Wreath are encouraged to speak with Isabelle once the season starts to acquire the recipe.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons use of the seasons changing in-game helps to bring the game even closer to home for many players. Although players in the Southern Hemisphere will have to wait until the end of May for another chance at the winter items and playing in Animal Crossing’s snow, all players can look forward to the upcoming Gift Day event, and the rumored ACNH holiday items update. Each season provides something new for players to do, between exclusive fish, bugs, and events, and winter is no exception.

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