Do you need a snowblower in Lake Forest, IL?
What clears snow in Lake Forest
Gas single-stage
Lake Forest gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 4.4 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
What a Lake Forest winter brings
- Snow a year
- 34 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.5 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- almost never
- Days with snow on the ground
- 53
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 4.4 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Lake Forest
- Oct0.1
- Nov1.9
- Dec5.9
- Jan11.3
- Feb7.7
- Mar5.6
- Apr1.1
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Lake Forest
Lake Forest is number 111 of 225 Illinois towns here for snowfall; St. Charles gets the most at 46 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Park, IL | 4 | 34 in | Gas single-stage |
| Deerfield, IL | 5 | 34 in | Gas single-stage |
| Vernon Hills, IL | 5 | 43 in | Gas single-stage |
| North Chicago, IL | 6 | 43 in | Gas single-stage |
| Libertyville, IL | 7 | 43 in | Gas single-stage |
| Buffalo Grove, IL | 7 | 43 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 Botanic Garden, 7.5 miles from Lake Forest. 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.