SnowfallCheck

Do you need a snowblower in Waukegan, IL?

The machine for a Waukegan driveway

Gas single-stage

Waukegan gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.6 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 Waukegan gets

Snow a year
43 in
Storms of 5 in or more
1.6 a winter
Storms of 10 in or more
about once every 3 winters
Days with snow on the ground
61

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 5.6 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.

When the snow comes in Waukegan

  1. Oct0.1
  2. Nov3.1
  3. Dec9.2
  4. Jan15.7
  5. Feb8.0
  6. Mar5.8
  7. Apr1.5

Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.

Towns near Waukegan

Waukegan is number 5 of 225 Illinois towns here for snowfall; St. Charles gets the most at 46 inches.

TownMilesSnowTwo car, paved
Gurnee, IL343 inGas single-stage
North Chicago, IL443 inGas single-stage
Beach Park, IL536 inGas single-stage
Zion, IL636 inGas single-stage
Libertyville, IL843 inGas single-stage
Grayslake, IL943 inGas 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 Lake Villa 2NE, 10.5 miles from Waukegan. 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.