Chicago’s first measurable snowfall of the 2024-2025 season arrived with a significant 2.9 inches recorded at O’Hare International Airport, marking the largest snowfall since 2016. While warmer temperatures are expected to melt much of it, this event still provided the city and its suburbs with a glimpse of winter’s arrival. Measurable snowfall is defined as a tenth of an inch or more of snow accumulation, while anything less is considered a trace amount, even if it does stick to the ground.
This year’s snowfall arrived earlier than recent seasons. For example, in 2021, the first measurable snow didn’t fall until December 28, the latest in Chicago’s recorded history. In 2020, the city saw its first snow on November 24, just a week later than the average first snowfall date of November 17. Interestingly, Halloween 2023 marked a unique occasion, as it was the 10th time the city experienced both its first freeze and first snowfall on the same day. The snowfall on October 31, 2023, was also one of only three times a measurable snowfall occurred on Halloween in Chicago’s weather history.
Looking back over 135 years of weather data, Chicago has seen its first measurable snow as early as October 12 (in 2006) and as late as December 20 (in 2012). The 2.9 inches of snow this season places it earlier than many recent first snowfalls, though the city’s official average date for the first measurable snow is mid-November.
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