When the first autumn snow fell in Chicago, 1885-2021

A big snowfall has come – you know what sticks! A little over half an inch of snow fell at O’Hare International Airport this morning, and the flakes continue to flutter.

The first official snowfall this season happened almost a month ago — a trail was recorded at O’Hare International Airport on October 17.

Weather conditions recorded at O’Hare Airport are a benchmark for the city. If O’Hare has less than a tenth of an inch, it’s considered a “mark” – even if it doesn’t stick. Whether a small amount of snow is the “first snow” is debatable. If a tenth of an inch or more accumulates, it is considered “measurable”.

[ Fall weather in Chicago: When to expect the first freeze and snowfall. ]

Snow finally arrived in Chicago on December 28, 2021, making it the second-longest span of days between two measurable snowfalls at nearly 288 days.

It was also the latest date for the first snowfall in Chicago’s history, dating back to 1885, and just the 26th time in the past 136 years that the city has had to wait until the last month of the year to feel snow on the ground.

[ Chicago’s 10 largest snowfalls since 1886 — and how the Tribune covered them ]

At O’Hare International Airport, the official site of entry, 0.01 inches was recorded at 12:10 p.m. A total of 1.5 inches fell. March 15, 2021 was the last time more than traces of snow were recorded on the site.

The area recorded the first measurable snowfall of the 2020 season 0.7 inches of snow at O’Hare International Airport November 24, 2020, a week later than the average date for the first snow in the city.

In 2016, 6.4 inches of snow fell on December 4, the largest first snowfall since 1905.

Looking back over more than 135 years of local weather data, Chicago’s first measurable snow fell as early as October 12 (in 2006) and as late as December 20 (in 2012). That’s why November 17th is the average date of Chicago’s first significant snowfall. Remember that measured snowfall is one-tenth of an inch or more on the ground, while anything less is considered trace amounts. The chart below shows the date of the first measurable snowfall for each year since 1885. Totals are available by year starting in 1905.