Winter in Chicago is a mood. One day you're walking down Michigan Avenue in a light jacket, and the next, you're wondering if you'll ever see your driveway again. Honestly, the snowfall totals Chicagoland area residents have seen lately are enough to give anyone whiplash. We just came off a 2024-2025 season that was weirdly dry—one of the least snowy on record—and then 2025-2026 decided to come out swinging.
It’s been a wild ride. By early December 2025, O'Hare had already clocked over 17 inches of snow. To put that in perspective, that’s basically the entire total for the previous year dumped on us in just a few weeks. If you feel like you've been shoveling more than usual, you’re not imagining it. You've definitely been putting in the work.
The Current State of the 2025-2026 Season
We are currently sitting in the middle of January 2026, and the numbers are telling a story of a "front-loaded" winter. Usually, we wait until late January or February for the real beatdown, but this year the National Weather Service (NWS) reported a "roaring start." Between late November and early December, we saw a nine-day stretch where Chicago and Rockford both picked up over 15 inches.
That’s a lot.
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Specifically, the Thanksgiving storm on November 29-30, 2025, was a beast. It dropped about 8 to 10 inches across many suburbs. Then, a "clipper" system on December 6-7 added another 4 to 7 inches, particularly north of Interstate 88. If you live in Sleepy Hollow or Elgin, you likely saw some of the highest totals, with reports hitting the 7-inch mark in some spots.
So far this January, things have been a bit more "normal," which in Chicago means frequent dustings of an inch or two rather than massive blizzards. Just this past Wednesday, January 14, O'Hare picked up a little over an inch of dry, fluffy snow as a cold front moved through. It wasn't a "Snowmageddon" situation, but it kept the salt trucks busy.
Why Does O'Hare Always Seem "Off"?
Here is something most people get wrong about the snowfall totals Chicagoland area reports. The "official" number for the city comes from O'Hare International Airport. But let’s be real: O'Hare is out on the edge. If you live in Hyde Park or the South Side, your experience is often totally different because of Lake Michigan.
Lake-effect snow is the ultimate wild card. On November 9-10, 2025, some areas near the lake got hammered with nearly a foot of snow while O'Hare barely saw a few inches. This happens because cold air moves over the relatively warm lake water, picks up moisture, and dumps it in narrow bands. If you’re under a band, you’re buried. If you’re two miles west, it’s sunny.
Also, historical data is a bit messy. Before 1980, the official records were kept at Midway. Midway generally runs a bit snowier than O'Hare. Meteorologists like those at the NWS Chicago office have to account for this shift when they talk about "record-breaking" years. It makes comparing 2026 to, say, 1967 (the year of the legendary 23-inch blizzard) a little like comparing apples to slightly colder, snowier oranges.
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Breaking Down the Averages
What is "normal" anyway?
- Average Annual Snowfall: Around 37 to 38 inches.
- Snowiest Month: Typically January, averaging about 10-11 inches.
- The 2024-2025 Total: A measly 17.6 inches (roughly half of normal).
- 2025-2026 Progress: As of mid-January 2026, we are already hovering near 20 inches.
Basically, we’ve already surpassed all of last winter. We are currently on pace to hit a near-normal or slightly above-normal season, depending on how February treats us. Usually, February is the wildcard. We’ve seen years where February is a total wash, and others—like 2011—where it delivers a 20-inch blizzard that shuts down Lake Shore Drive.
Looking at the Suburbs
The Chicagoland area is huge, and the totals are never uniform. This year, the northern and western suburbs have been the big "winners" (if you like shoveling). Places like Batavia, St. Charles, and Maple Park consistently reported higher totals during the December 2025 storms than the southern suburbs like Joliet or Kankakee.
The "tight gradient" is a phrase weather geeks love. It means that the difference between 6 inches of snow and 1 inch can be a distance of only 10 or 15 miles. We saw this clearly during the December 7 event. While Elgin was digging out from 6.6 inches, areas south of I-80, like Morris and Dwight, only saw about an inch or less.
Actionable Steps for Staying Ahead
Since we still have a good chunk of the 2026 winter left, you shouldn't put the shovel away just yet. Here is how to handle the rest of the season based on current trends:
- Monitor the "Clipper" Systems: This year has been dominated by fast-moving systems coming from the northwest. They don't always give a lot of warning, but they can drop 3 inches in a few hours right before the evening commute.
- Check Midway vs. O'Hare: If you live in the city or the south suburbs, the Midway report is usually a more accurate reflection of your reality than the "official" O'Hare total.
- Watch the Lake Temperature: As long as Lake Michigan remains unfrozen, the threat of lake-effect snow persists. Once the lake freezes over (if it does), that moisture source gets cut off, and the "Snowfall totals Chicagoland area" south of the city usually stabilize.
- Salt Early: With the fluctuating temperatures we’ve seen—dropping from 40°F to 24°F in a single afternoon—pre-treating your walk is better than trying to chip away ice later.
The 2025-2026 season has already proven that it’s more aggressive than the last. Even if we don't get another "big one," the cumulative totals are likely to stay on the high side of the historical average for the first time in a few years. Keep your gas tanks full and your snow blowers ready. The Groundhog might have his say soon, but in Chicago, winter usually goes until it's good and ready to stop.