With temperatures cooling down significantly at the end of this week, many Chicago residents are wondering when the city typically sees its first measurable snowfall.
While much colder temperatures are in the forecast in the coming days for the Chicago area, no measurable snow is currently forecasted, though flurries are possible.
O'Hare International Airport has seen two ends of extremes in recent years, with 2019's first measurable snowfall coming on Oct. 30, the seventh-earliest measurable snowfall in Chicago since 1967.
Just last year, Chicago saw its latest first measurable snowfall of all-time, according to the National Weather Service. Snow did not fall at O'Hare Airport until Dec. 28, when 1.5 inches of snowfall were recorded.
While the snowy Halloween of 2019 is still fresh in Chicagoans minds, the earliest snowfall record was set 13 years earlier when 0.3 inches of snow fell at O'Hare on Oct. 12, 2006.
According to the National Weather Service, the average date that Chicago typically sees its first measurable snowfall comes on Nov. 18, with the average date for the season's final measurable snowfall falling on April 2.
As for the extreme ends of the city's final measurable snowfall, 1994 set the record for the earliest date with the city's last flakes falling on Feb. 28.
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In 1966, a measurable snowfall on May 11 set the still-standing record for the city's latest snowfall.
Here's a look at when the city saw its first snowfall over the past 10 years and how much snow fell when it finally happened:
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- 2012: Dec. 20, 0.2 inches
- 2013: Nov. 11, 0.4 inches
- 2014: Oct. 31, 0.1 inches
- 2015: Nov. 20, 4.2 inches
- 2016: Dec. 4, 6.4 inches
- 2017: Nov. 10, 0.1 inches
- 2018: Nov. 9, 1 inch
- 2019: Oct. 30, 1.2 inches
- 2020: Nov. 24, 0.7 inches
- 2021: Dec. 28, 1.5 inches
Additionally, here's when the final measurable snowfall was recorded at O'Hare over the past decade:
- 2013: April 19, 0.1 inch
- 2014: April 14, 1.4 inches
- 2015: March 27, 0.6 inches
- 2016: April 8, 0.7 inches
- 2017: March 14, 3.4 inches
- 2018: April 19, 0.1 inch
- 2019: April 27, 2.5 inches
- 2020: April 17, 3 inches
- 2021: March 15, 1.8 inches
- 2022: April 18, 0.2 inches