A snow-covered Chicago side street of brick two-flats under a bright blue winter sky

Chicago Snowfall Totals by Winter: O’Hare Gets About 35 Inches in a Typical Year. 2024–25 Got 17.6, the Least of 64 Complete Winters There, and Days at or Below Zero Have Fallen From 13 a Winter to 5

Chicago snowfall totals for every winter since 1959 at O'Hare, the snowiest months, the biggest blizzards and the record cold, from NOAA's daily record: about 35 inches in a typical winter, and fewer days at or below zero.

A typical Chicago winter brings about 35 inches of snow at O’Hare, and three of the last four fell well short: 2024–25 got 17.6 inches, the least in 64 complete winters of NOAA’s daily record there since 1959. The cold has eased more than the snow. Since 1990 the typical winter has had 5 days at or below zero, against 13 from 1958 to 1990.

NOAA NCEI daily summaries for O’Hare (USW00094846), January 1, 1958 to October 3, 2026 · one station · the medians and comparisons are ours

How much snow does Chicago get?

About 35 inches in a typical winter, counting from July to June. That is the median of 64 complete winters at O’Hare since 1959–60; the average is 38.2, pulled up by a few huge winters. The range is wide. The most snow came in 1978–79, 83.7 inches, and 2013–14 nearly matched it at 82.0; the least came in 2024–25, 17.6. The three winters from 2022–23 through 2024–25 all rank among the four least snowy on file, with 2011–12 the other, and last winter, 2025–26, came back to 34.1 inches, about a typical year.

0204060801001959–60: 51.7 in1960–61: 23.1 in19601961–62: 47.7 in1962–63: 35.3 in1963–64: 36.2 in1964–65: 61.3 in1965–66: 28.9 in1966–67: 67.7 in1967–68: 27.7 in1968–69: 22.3 in1969–70: 56.1 in1970–71: 23.1 in19701971–72: 36.9 in1972–73: 25.6 in1973–74: 37.2 in1974–75: 37.7 in1975–76: 27.5 in1976–77: 24.7 in1977–78: 52.4 in1978–79: 83.7 in1978–79: 83.7 in1979–80: 41.6 in1980–81: 35.0 in19801981–82: 59.3 in1982–83: 26.6 in1983–84: 49.0 in1984–85: 39.1 in1985–86: 29.0 in1986–87: 26.2 in1987–88: 42.6 in1988–89: 24.5 in1989–90: 33.8 in1990–91: 23.5 in19901991–92: 28.4 in1992–93: 46.9 in1993–94: 41.8 in1994–95: 24.1 in1998–99: 50.9 in1999–00: 30.3 in2000–01: 39.2 in20002001–02: 31.1 in2002–03: 28.6 in2003–04: 24.8 in2004–05: 39.4 in2005–06: 26.0 in2006–07: 35.6 in2007–08: 60.3 in2008–09: 52.7 in2009–10: 54.2 in2010–11: 57.9 in20102011–12: 19.8 in2012–13: 30.1 in2013–14: 82.0 in2013–14: 82.0 in2014–15: 50.7 in2015–16: 31.2 in2016–17: 26.1 in2017–18: 36.1 in2018–19: 49.5 in2019–20: 34.8 in2020–21: 48.8 in20202021–22: 32.8 in2022–23: 20.2 in2023–24: 22.2 in2024–25: 17.6 in2024–25: 17.6 in2025–26: 34.1 inmedian 35 inInches of snow at O’Hare, July to June; seasons named for their fall
Chicago snowfall totals by winter, O’Hare NOAA’s daily record. Dark blue: the two snowiest winters; red: 2022–23 to 2024–25. Three winters, 1995–96 to 1997–98, are left out because too many days lack a snowfall reading.
The last eleven winters, newest first. Snowfall July 1 to June 30.
WinterSnowfall at O’HareBiggest dayDays with an inch or more
2025–2634.1 in8.4 in, November 29, 202510
2024–2517.6 in2.9 in, November 21, 20247
2023–2422.2 in4.7 in, January 12, 20248
2022–2320.2 in3.6 in, January 25, 20238
2021–2232.8 in5.4 in, February 2, 202210
2020–2148.8 in6.3 in, January 31, 202113
2019–2034.8 in3.4 in, November 11, 201915
2018–1949.5 in5.4 in, April 14, 201916
2017–1836.1 in6.2 in, February 9, 201812
2016–1726.1 in6.4 in, December 4, 20167
2015–1631.2 in7.0 in, November 21, 201510

When does it snow in Chicago?

Mostly in January. In a typical winter January brings 10.2 inches, February 7.8, December 5.8 and March 4.0; November’s median is under an inch and April’s a trace. The medians for each month don’t add up to the season’s, because the snowy months move from winter to winter. When the first snow and the first freeze tend to arrive is on our first freeze and first snow page.

What were Chicago’s biggest snowstorms?

Measured over two days at O’Hare, four storms reached 18 inches or more: January 1–2, 1999 (20.6 inches), the blizzard of January 26–27, 1967 (20.4), the Groundhog Day blizzard of February 1–2, 2011 (20.2) and February 1–2, 2015 (18.0). The most in a single calendar day was 18.6 inches on January 2, 1999. These are O’Hare’s readings; other stations in the region measured some of the same storms differently.

What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in Chicago?

In O’Hare’s daily record, which starts in 1958, the lowest reading is -27°F, on January 20, 1985. Two other winters of the early 1980s came close: -26°F on January 10, 1982 and -25°F on December 24, 1983. The coldest since then came in the polar vortex of January 2019, -23°F on January 30, 2019. Last winter’s low was -11°F.

Are Chicago winters getting milder?

For cold, yes, by this record. From 1958–59 to 1989–90 the typical winter had 13 days at or below zero; since 1990–91 it has had 5. The coldest reading of a typical winter went from -14°F to -8°F. The most days at or below zero in one winter was 35, in 1962–63, and two winters had none at all, 1982–83 and 2011–12.

0102030401958–59: 21 days1959–60: 3 days1960–61: 12 days19601961–62: 18 days1962–63: 35 days1962–63: 35 days1963–64: 16 days1964–65: 14 days1965–66: 15 days1966–67: 9 days1967–68: 9 days1968–69: 10 days1969–70: 13 days1970–71: 13 days19701971–72: 13 days1972–73: 7 days1973–74: 4 days1974–75: 3 days1975–76: 9 days1976–77: 22 days1977–78: 21 days1978–79: 26 days1979–80: 7 days1980–81: 13 days19801981–82: 22 days1982–83: 0 days1983–84: 20 days1984–85: 21 days1985–86: 20 days1986–87: 3 days1987–88: 16 days1988–89: 2 days1989–90: 8 days1990–91: 6 days19901991–92: 4 days1992–93: 5 days1993–94: 17 days1994–95: 4 days1995–96: 8 days1996–97: 11 days1997–98: 1 day1998–99: 6 days1999–00: 3 days2000–01: 11 days20002001–02: 2 days2002–03: 3 days2003–04: 5 days2004–05: 1 day2005–06: 3 days2006–07: 8 days2007–08: 9 days2008–09: 12 days2009–10: 3 days2010–11: 4 days20102011–12: 0 days2012–13: 2 days2013–14: 26 days2014–15: 16 days2015–16: 5 days2016–17: 5 days2017–18: 11 days2018–19: 7 days2019–20: 1 day2020–21: 5 days20202021–22: 3 days2022–23: 5 days2023–24: 3 days2024–25: 5 days2025–26: 5 daysDays at or below 0°F at O’Hare, November to March
Days at or below zero each winter, O’Hare NOAA’s daily minimum temperatures, November through March.

Snow has changed less. The typical winter brought 36.2 inches from 1959–60 to 1989–90 and 34.1 since. That difference is small next to the change from one winter to the next: the median gap between back-to-back winters is 13 inches. Our reading: a Chicago winter now is less likely to be bitterly cold than a generation ago, but about as likely to be snowy, and the run of light winters from 2022–23 to 2024–25 ended with a typical one.

What this record can’t tell you

  • On the recordHow much snow fell and how cold it got at O’Hare, day by day, since 1958, as NOAA publishes it.
  • Not establishedWhat fell on any other street. Snow from the lake can bury the shore and spare O’Hare, and the reverse; one station is one place.
  • Not establishedThis winter’s forecast. A long record says what is typical, not what comes next.
  • Not establishedWhy winters changed. The record shows the change; it does not explain it.

How we counted

  • Source. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries for O’Hare (station USW00094846), January 1, 1958 to October 3, 2026: daily snowfall in inches and daily low and high temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Winters. A snow season runs July 1 to June 30 and is named for its fall; a cold season runs November 1 to March 31. A season counts only if 95 percent of its days carry a reading, which leaves out the snow seasons 1995–96 to 1997–98. The record starts January 1, 1958, so the first complete cold season is 1958–59 (November 1958 to March 1959) and the first complete snow season 1959–60.
  • Measures. A day at or below zero has a low of 0°F or colder. Two-day storm totals add the snowfall of two calendar days in a row. “Typical” means the median. The gap between back-to-back winters is the difference in snowfall between each winter and the one before it, for the 62 consecutive pairs on file.

Computed by KCM Desk from NOAA’s daily record for O’Hare, read October 30, 2026. Human-guided and edited — about this desk. If you spot an error, corrections come first.

Moving HereLiving HereCity in MotionNeighborhoods & Suburbs
About · Editorial Policy · Our Data & Methods · Privacy · Terms · Contact
© 2026 Keep Chicagoland Moving · A TAK Marketing, LLC publication · Part of the fabulous Omnishun information systems