People walk through the snow along North Michigan Avenue as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Grant Inglis, 12, gets covered in snow while shaking off Christmas trees with Trent Modglin on Dec. 7, 2025, at Centennial Park in Park Ridge. The Wilderness Scouts and Princesses run the lot annually to sell trees for charity. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Kids sled through fresh snow in Centennial Park on Dec. 7, 2025, in Park Ridge. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People walk through the snow along North Michigan Avenue as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Sledders take off from the top of the hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People cross the bridge from Maggie Daley Park on Nov. 30, 2025, after Chicago recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People walk through fresh flurries along West 18th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Trey Stewart surfs under a rising supermoon at Montrose Beach on Dec. 4, 2025, in Chicago. The air temperature at the time was 17 degrees. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
People are reflected in a mirrored mosaic while walking through the snow in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Sledders head to the top of the hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People make a snowman in Chicago’s Grant Park on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People ice skate in Millennium Park on Nov. 30, 2025, after Chicago recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A man rides a Divvy bike through fresh flurries along West 18th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
DuSable Lake Shore Drive is plowed and clear on Nov. 30, 2025, after Chicago recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Kids sled together at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People walk through slush along West 18th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People walk along West 18th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People walk through Chicago’s Grant Park on Nov. 30, 2025, after the city recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Snow covers Cloud Gate in Millennium Park on Nov. 30, 2025, after Chicago recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A person walks around Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, after Chicago recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Sledders climb to the top of the hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Sledders fly down a hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Sledders head to the top of the hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Kids line up to sled down a hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A sledder catches air off a ramp on a hill at Barrie Park on Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Park after the region recorded over 8 inches of snow. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A woman catches snowflakes with her tongue while walking in the 1600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A CTA Red Line train arrives at the Lawrence station in the snow as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A person walks through the snow along North Michigan Avenue as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
People cross the intersection of North and Damen Avenues, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Tracy Hansen, manager at Mano a Mano Italian restaurant, decorates the entrance with holiday-themed stickers in the 2500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A woman pulls a cart of items through the snow in the 2200 block of North California Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Snow is moved from piles into a giant melter at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport as a storm rolls through the area on Nov. 29, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Henry Leman, 8, throws a snowball at his mom, Caitlin Leman, during a winter storm on Nov. 29, 2025, in Wheaton. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A man shovels out his vehicle in the 2700 block of North Artesian Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A woman walks around her vehicle after cleaning snow off the windows and wiper blades, in Berwyn, Nov. 29, 2025, as cold and snow make for slippery streets during the start of a winter storm in Chicagoland. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Participants in the Naperville Run Company’s “Small Biz Saturday 25th Anniversary Fun Run + Walk” run near the Riverwalk on Jackson Avenue during a winter storm on Nov. 29, 2025, in downtown Naperville. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A man clears snow from hedges while shoveling in the 2800 block of North Campbell Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A child's battery-powered vehicle is locked to a pole as a motorist clears snow from her vehicle in the 2700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A worker clears snow from the sidewalk as a person walks past in the 2600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A woman exits a gate adorned with snow-covered holiday decorations in the 2700 block of North Artesian Avenue on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Three people walk in the snow in the 2200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Djuna Williams, of Melrose Park, a librarian at the Naperville Public Library, shovels the walkway in front of the library's entrance during a winter storm on Nov. 29, 2025. “My co-worker should get in about 8:30. I’ll give him the other side of the building,” Williams said. “Sharing is caring.” (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A taxi heads outbound on the Kennedy Expressway in the snow near the Diversey Avenue off-ramp on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Light traffic moves through the Kennedy Expressway in the snow near the Diversey Avenue off-ramp on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A woman walks alongside footprints in the snow in the 1500 block of North Damen Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A man darts across the 2000 block of West North Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A fallen bicycle is covered in snow in the 2700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Jaclyn Buckreis pushes her son Tyler, 12, down Sled Hill in Riverwalk Park during a winter storm on Nov. 29, 2025, in Naperville. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A worker scoops snow off the sidewalk in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A CTA Blue Line train approaches the Damen station on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Kerry Couch enters Cafe Mustache after shoveling snow off the storefront sidewalk in the 2300 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Tyler Buckreis, 12, of Naperville, walks back up Sled Hill in Riverwalk Park during a winter storm on Nov. 29, 2025, in Naperville. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
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People walk through the snow along North Michigan Avenue as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
ExpandBy Kori Rumore | krumore@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
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In Chicago, snow seasons are tracked from July through the following June. The area normally can expect 38.4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. During the 2024-25 season, the area accumulated just 17.6 inches.
The most snow Chicago has ever received in one season was 89.7 inches during 1978-79. The least — 9.8 inches — occurred in 1920-21.
Here’s a look back at how our current snowfall compares with previous seasons.
- Chicago weather: What’s normal for fall’s first freeze and first snow? And when does it happen?
- Chicago’s 10 largest snowfalls since 1886 — and how the Tribune covered them
- Chicago’s winter parking ban goes into effect Dec 1. Here’s what to know — snow or no snow.
- Thanksgiving weather in Chicago: The most extreme conditions since 1872
- Chicago’s Christmas weather: The warmest and coldest since 1872
- New Year’s Day in Chicago: The warmest, coldest, snowiest and wettest weather since 1872
- Valentine’s Day in Chicago: The warmest, coldest, snowiest and wettest weather since 1871
- Chicago’s craziest St. Patrick’s Day weather — and how the Tribune covered it
- Easter weather in Chicago: The warmest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days on record since 1871























































