DeKALB – Over the years, it seems as if snowfall has increased during March. Is climate change to blame, or is this common for northern Illinois? 

The normal amount of snowfall for Chicago during March is 5.6 inches, according to weather.gov. The most snowfall recorded was 23.1 inches in 1926. 2019 only recorded 0.3 inches. 

“One of the most severe ice storms to hit central Illinois since 1967 began the morning of March 24, 1978,” said Steven Hilberg, a meteorologist and climatologist, and state climatologist Jim Angel from State Climatologist Office for Illinois. “Freezing rain continued until the morning of March 25, and by the time the rain ended, 1/2 to 2 inches of ice coated a 90-mile-wide belt west to east across central Illinois.”

In 1930, on March 25 and 26, the fifth largest snowstorm in Chicago history occurred with 19.2 inches of recorded precipitation, according to a US National Weather Service Facebook post.

Looking at the statistical data from the past years of snow precipitation during the month of March, it has been common to see snow.