Dear Tom,
Have we ever had a significant snowfall of 6 inches or more in November?
Nicole Marie, DePaul University
Dear Nicole,
Chicago’s snow season does not usually rev into high gear until December, as reflected by the city’s average November snowfall of only about 2 inches. However, the month has on rare occasions blasted the city with a heavy blanket of white. With the help of our climatologist Frank Wachowski, we found six snowstorms that brought at least 6 inches of snow to the city during the past 120 Novembers dating back to 1884. Chicago’s largest November snowstorm brought a foot of snow more than 100 years ago on Nov. 25-26, 1895. More recently, an 8.6 inch snowfall blasted the city on November 26- 27, 1975. The bulk of this storm fell on Thanksgiving Eve, bringing holiday travel to a standstill across Chicago and much of the surrounding Midwest.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
