Do you need a snowblower in Portage, IN?
The machine for a Portage driveway
Gas single-stage
Portage gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.2 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.
How much snow Portage gets
- Snow a year
- 40 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.7 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 10 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 46
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 5.2 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Portage
- Nov0.7
- Dec7.3
- Jan16.0
- Feb9.7
- Mar6.0
- Apr0.6
Snow worth clearing runs from December to March, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in November.
Portage and its neighbours
Portage is number 7 of 88 Indiana towns here for snowfall; Michigan City gets the most at 65 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Station, IN | 4 | 40 in | Gas single-stage |
| Chesterton, IN | 6 | 40 in | Gas single-stage |
| Hobart, IN | 7 | 27 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Gary, IN | 9 | 27 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Valparaiso, IN | 10 | 40 in | Gas single-stage |
| Merrillville, IN | 11 | 27 in | Cordless 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 Indiana Dunes Nl, 5.6 miles from Portage. 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.