Do you need a snowblower in Independence, MO?
What clears snow in Independence
A shovel is enough
A normal winter drops about 1.7 tons of snow on this driveway in Independence, spread over a few light falls. That is shovel work.
Get a wide plastic shovel with a bent handle before the first fall, and if you have a bad back, consider a cordless single-stage instead: the snow in Independence is light enough for one.
How much snow Independence gets
- Snow a year
- 13 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 0.5 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- almost never
- Days with snow on the ground
- 20
Light, below most snowy cities. A typical snowy US city gets about 2.5 times as much. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 1.7 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Independence
- Oct0.4
- Nov1.2
- Dec3.5
- Jan3.6
- Feb2.6
- Mar1.7
- Apr0.2
Snow worth clearing runs from November to March, heaviest in January. Buy the shovel before the first fall, when stores still have them.
Independence and its neighbours
Independence is number 34 of 80 Missouri towns here for snowfall; St. Joseph gets the most at 21 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Springs, MO | 7 | 13 in | A shovel is enough |
| Raytown, MO | 9 | 9 in | A shovel is enough |
| Grain Valley, MO | 9 | 13 in | A shovel is enough |
| Kansas City, MO | 11 | 11 in | A shovel is enough |
| Liberty, MO | 11 | 19 in | A shovel is enough |
| Lee's Summit, MO | 11 | 9 in | A shovel is enough |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: What a winter of snow weighs and Why storm depth matters more than snowfall.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Independence, 2.3 miles from Independence. 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.