Dear Tom,
What day of the year is Chicago's snowiest day?
Fran Kosey, Chicago
Dear Fran,
We can offer two answers to your question.
For starters, consider this: A total of 3,063.0 inches of snow was measured at Midway
Airport in the 79-year period from 1929 through 2007. That works out to an average of
38.8 inches per year. Measurable snow has occurred there as early in the snow season
as Oct 12 (0.3 inch in 2006) and as late as May 11 (0.2 inch in 1966). Jan. 13 stands as
Chicago's snowiest day, with a total accumulation of 54.6 inches in the 79 years of
Midway snow data. Jan. 26 ranks second with 51.5 inches.
The snowiest single day, midnight to midnight, in Chicago snow history is Jan. 2,
1999, when 17.6 inches buried the city. That day was part of an epic Jan. 1-3 storm
that delivered 20.6 inches.
