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Here Are Chicago’s Snowiest Winters Of All Time (We’re Not There Yet)

The notorious winter of 1978-1979 remains the snowiest winter we've seen, with 89.7 inches falling.

Ronan the dog walks along the snowy sidewalk as lake effect snow whips onto Sheridan Road off of Lake Michigan in the Edgewater neighborhood as more snow pounded Chicago on Feb. 15, 2021.
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

CHICAGO — Chicago is buried under snow right now after 17 inches fell on parts of the city in the past day, but it’s going to take a lot more to even break into the top ten snowiest winters since the National Weather Service started keeping track.

The notorious winter of 1978-1979 remains the snowiest we’ve seen, with 89.7 inches falling. The year before saw 82.3 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Tuesday morning, Chicago is at 43.9 inches this winter at O’Hare Airport, the official measuring location in Chicago. It’s been the snowiest three-week stretch since 1978-1979.

Here are the top 10 snowiest Chicago winters:

  • 89.7 inches: 1978-1979
  • 82.3 inches: 1977-1978
  • 82 inches: 2013-2014
  • 77 inches: 1969-1970
  • 68.4 inches: 1966-1967
  • 66.4 inches: 1951-1952
  • 64.1 inches: 1917-1918
  • 60.3 inches: 2007-2008
  • 59.5 inches: 1964-1965
  • 59.5 inches: 1903-1904

Here are the top 9 least snowiest Chicago winters:

  • 9.8 inches: 1920-1921
  • 11.5 inches: 1921-1922
  • 12 inches: 1936-1937
  • 14.3 inches: 1948-1948
  • 18 inches: 1898-1899
  • 18.2 inches: 1901-1902
  • 18.9 inches: 1924-1925
  • 19 inches: 1914-1915
  • 19 inches: 1912-1913

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