Dear Tom,
Has the last snowfall of the season ever occurred in February?
Nicole Marie,
DePaul University, Chicago
Dear Nicole,
An analysis of 121 years of Chicago snowfall records dating from 1885 strongly suggests it would be premature to pack away your snow shovel on March 1. Only once, in 1994, has the city’s last measurable snow of the season fallen in February (and even then, it missed March by only a few hours: 0.8″ fell on Feb. 28).
The average spring date of Chicago’s last “shoveling” snow–which we will somewhat arbitrarily define as one inch or more–is March 19, and the average date of the city’s last measurable snow (0.1″ or more) is April 3.
The records also reveal that Chicago has a 50-50 chance of a major snow after March 1. March or April snowstorms of 4.0″ or more have occurred 64 times in 121 years.
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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.
