Halloween Surprise: 96-Year-Old Record Snowfall in Chicago, Across U.S.

A storm that made many areas of the Midwest feel more like winter than fall shattered a 96-year-old winter weather record in Chicago.

The historic storm system— which brought snow and cold over the Colorado Rockies this week— made it to the Midwest on Thursday morning, unleashing moderate-to-heavy snowfall in northeastern Kansas, eastern Iowa, Illinois, and southern Wisconsin.

The total accumulation expected in these areas is 3 to 5 inches of snow.

Chicago experienced its earliest snow day of the year where an inch or more of snow fell since October 20, 1989, and smashed its previous record of 0.7 inches at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday with a whopping 1.2 inches of snow.

Through 4 pm, Chicago's had 1.2" of snow today. This breaks a nearly 100 year old daily snowfall record for Oct 30th, which was 0.7" set in 1923! This is also the earliest 1"+ calendar day snowfall since Oct 20, 1989 & only the 10th 1"+ calendar day snow this early in season.

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) October 30, 2019

Some areas surrounding Chicago are expected to gain 3 to 6 inches of snow by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.

The Winter Weather Advisory continues for parts of north and northeast Illinois today. Snowfall totals of 3 to 6 inches and poor visibility are possible leading to hazardous travel conditions into this afternoon. As always, snowfall reports are always appreciated! pic.twitter.com/tNhSyqNrbV

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) October 31, 2019

The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also set a new weather forecast record on Thursday at 7 a.m. when 1.1. inches of snowfall was measured.

Its previous record was 0.4 inches in 1926. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin’s state capitol of Madison, another snowfall record for October was shattered when a total of 5.5 inches was reported on Thursday morning.

Previously, the city’s October record was 5.2 inches in 1917.

The snowstorm is forecast to spread across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and into northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio through Thursday evening.