The Cities Where It Snowed the Most On Monday

This week, a powerful early-season snowstorm blanketed parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes, dumping several inches of snow across wide swaths of the region and setting the stage for a wintry start to November. According to the National Weather Service, lake-effect bands and a surge of cold Arctic air combined to produce the heaviest snowfall of the season so far, snarling traffic and triggering hundreds of delays from Wisconsin to western Michigan.

While totals were modest across much of the Chicago area, heavier bands off Lake Michigan left parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan buried under half a foot or more of snow. In some isolated spots, accumulations topped 10 inches. A closer look at the data reveals the cities where it snowed the most this week.

To identify the cities where it snowed the most this week, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed the NOAA’s National Gridded Snowfall Analysis for the 24-hour period ending November 11, 2025. Cities were ranked by average estimated snowfall accumulation in inches. Snowfall accumulation totals were averaged across city boundaries using spatial definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only cities with at least 75,000 residents were considered.

10. Champaign, Illinois

Central Illinois saw one of its heaviest early-season snowfalls in years as a strong cold front swept across the state Monday night. In Champaign, nearly 2.5 inches blanketed the city, enough to coat streets and lawns and mark the area’s first measurable snow of the season.

9. Dayton, Ohio

In southwest Ohio, Dayton picked up around 2.5 inches as a trailing cold front pushed east. The snowfall was brief but intense, briefly whitening lawns and highways before tapering off. It was the area’s first measurable accumulation of the season.

8. Cicero, Illinois

Cicero saw a solid 2.9 inches of snow Monday night, part of the same lake-enhanced system that blanketed the Chicago metro area. Wet, heavy flakes quickly coated streets and rooftops before road crews cleared main thoroughfares ahead of the Tuesday morning commute.

7. Chicago, Illinois

Chicago picked up around 3 inches of snow on average –more along the lakefront than in western neighborhoods – as bursts of lake-effect snow followed a broader system moving through northern Illinois. Though accumulations varied widely, the city logged its first notable snowfall of the season.

6. South Bend, Indiana

South Bend once again found itself in the bull’s eye of a Great Lakes snow machine. Roughly 4.2 inches fell across the city, with locally higher totals to the north and east. The snow was light and powdery, ushering in the area’s familiar winter rhythm ahead of schedule.

5. Hammond, Indiana

Across the state line in northwest Indiana, Hammond measured just over 4 inches of snow as a band of lake-effect flurries swept inland. Roads turned slick overnight, and light snow persisted into the early morning commute before giving way to clearing skies.

4. Evanston, Illinois

Farther south along the lake, Evanston saw one of its earliest significant snowfalls in years, with an average of 4.5 inches across the city. The burst of snow briefly covered Northwestern University’s campus and nearby neighborhoods before tapering off early Tuesday morning.

3. Waukegan, Illinois

Snow piled up quickly in Waukegan as moisture from Lake Michigan fed into frigid air streaming from the northwest. The city averaged about 6 inches, with heavier pockets along the waterfront. Plows worked overnight to clear side streets as temperatures dipped into the low 20s.

2. Racine, Wisconsin

Just north of the Wisconsin-Illinois border, Racine was also hit hard by the same lake-effect plume, picking up roughly 6 inches of snow in 24 hours. The heavy, slushy accumulation caused slick roads along I-94 and blanketed the lakeshore in a thick early-November coating.

1. Kenosha, Wisconsin

A sharp lake-effect band parked over southeastern Wisconsin Sunday night, burying Kenosha under nearly 8 inches of snow on average. Gusty winds off Lake Michigan reduced visibility and left behind heavy, wet snow that clung to trees and power lines, marking the city’s first major accumulation of the season.