Do you need a snowblower in Mason City, IA?
The machine for a Mason City driveway
Gas single-stage
Mason City gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.8 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 Mason City winter brings
- Snow a year
- 44 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.9 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 5 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 79
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.2 times 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 5.8 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Mason City
- Oct0.4
- Nov3.0
- Dec9.4
- Jan11.3
- Feb10.0
- Mar7.0
- Apr3.0
- May0.3
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Mason City and its neighbours
Mason City is the snowiest Iowa town here for snowfall.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Lea, MN | 36 | 40 in | Gas single-stage |
| Austin, MN | 38 | 43 in | Gas single-stage |
| Waverly, IA | 47 | 39 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Cedar Falls, IA | 58 | 39 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Waterloo, IA | 62 | 39 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Owatonna, MN | 65 | 44 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 Mason City Municipal Airport, 6.4 miles from Mason City. 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.