first snow – Illinois State Climatologist

November 17, 2015

Average Date of First Snow in Illinois

I have noticed that the average date of the first snow is a popular search term on the blog, so here is the reposting of the median dates of the first measurable snowfall of the season in Illinois. This map is based on 1971-2000 data. While it is not based on the current 1981-2010 averages, the map is still relevant for the purpose of getting an idea of the dates. Measurable snowfall means at least a tenth of an inch.

Median Date:

In the northern third of Illinois, the first snowfall occurred around Thanksgiving. The dates switch from November to December once you reach central Illinois (just north of a line between Quincy and Champaign). By the time you reach Carbondale, the date can be as late as December 20. From this you can see that we are by no means behind schedule this year.

Early Date:

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October 6, 2014

First Snow in Illinois

Traces of snow were reported in Chicago and Rockford on October 4. A few years ago I did a post on the earliest and median dates for the first measurable snowfall of the season. Measurable means at least 0.1 inches or more. Snow flurries or traces of snow do not count since they have not been tracked closely in the historical weather records.

No real surprises for anyone who has experienced winter in Illinois. The earliest dates of measurable snow are in the late October, early November time frame. And the median dates range from late November in northern Illinois to the second half of December in southern Illinois. Even so, the dates can vary considerably between nearby sites since many of the early season snows are sporadic and not very widespread.

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November 28, 2012

First Snow in Illinois

The other night we had a brief period of snow with no accumulation on the ground here in Champaign. However I did see some on my car for a few minutes (see right) before it melted. That reminded me that Zoe and I had worked on some “first snowfall” maps. These maps are based on sites that reported snowfall regularly since 1981. The dates are the earliest and median dates of the first measurable snow (0.1 inches or more) for the standard averaging period of 1981 to 2010 (also known as “normal”).
No real surprises for anyone who has experienced winter in Illinois. The earliest dates are in the late October, early November time frame. And the median dates range from late November in northern Illinois to the second half of December in southern Illinois. Even so, the dates can vary considerably between nearby sites since many of the early season snows are sporadic and not very widespread.
The median is also known as the 50th percentile and represents in the “middle” of the distribution of dates. In many cases it is a better measure than the average, which can be thrown off by some date that is extraordinarily early or late.