Dear Tom,
Where does our snowy winter currently stand in Chicago’s snow rankings? Thad Thompson, Chicago
Dear Thad,
Climatological statistics serve many purposes, one of which is their ability to put current weather events in historical perspective.
The winter of 1920-21 stands at the low end of the city’s full-season snow spectrum. The snow season (the amount of autumn, winter and spring snowfall) delivered only 9.8 inches, Chicago’s least-snowy season, and a quarter of the city’s long-term average of 40 inches.
The 1978-79 season stands as Chicago’s snowiest, with a whopping 89.7 inches, more than double the long-term average.
Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski tells us this year’s seasonal snow total is 51 inches at Midway Airport as of 6 p.m. Thursday, and 45.7 inches at O’Hare International Airport.
Even in the unlikely event there is no snow the rest of the season, Midway’s 51 inches would rank as the city’s 20th snowiest out of 124.
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