Dear Tom,
Six inches of snow is always a big deal. In what part of the winter does Chicago have the greatest chance of getting a six-inch (or greater) snowstorm? And what is the earliest and latest dates of those storms?
Ron Bagshaw
Dear Ron,
Snowstorms of 6.0″ or more have blanked Chicago on 167 occasions in the city’s 123 years of snowfall records. That averages 1.4 storms per winter season, or four storms in three years. Surprisingly, Chicago has experienced such snowstorms in half of the year’s 12 months: They have occurred from November into April. The earliest was a late-autumn snowstorm of 9.3″ on Nov. 6-7, 1951, and the latest was a spring storm of 6.5″ on April 15-16, 1961. The greatest likelihood of 6.0″+ snows is December (with 45 snows) followed by January (43) and February (37).
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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.
