Do you need a snowblower in Des Plaines, IL?
The machine for a Des Plaines driveway
Cordless single-stage
Plenty falls in Des Plaines, about 5.0 tons a winter on this driveway, but it comes in shallow storms a small cordless machine can take in.
Before you buy, check the battery is rated to clear the whole driveway in one charge in the cold, or get a second battery. Batteries lose range below freezing.
How much snow Des Plaines gets
- Snow a year
- 38 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.4 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 10 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 44
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. About what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 5.0 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Des Plaines
- Oct0.2
- Nov1.8
- Dec7.6
- Jan11.3
- Feb10.7
- Mar5.5
- Apr1.3
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Des Plaines
Des Plaines is number 63 of 225 Illinois towns here for snowfall; St. Charles gets the most at 46 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Prospect, IL | 3 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Park Ridge, IL | 3 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Niles, IL | 5 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Prospect Heights, IL | 5 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Elk Grove Village, IL | 5 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Glenview, IL | 5 | 34 in | Gas single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Chicago Ohare International Airport, 3.2 miles from Des Plaines. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.