Gary & Michigan City Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

How Often it Snows in Gary & Michigan City

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Gary — Michigan City, 2008 to 2017

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
3.7	January	12.0	30.4
4.3	February	16.3	41.4
1.6	March	5.2	13.3
0.1	April	0.1	0.3
0.3	November	1.5	3.8
2.4	December	5.7	14.5
14.0	Year	45.6	115.8

30-year snowfall averages at Gary — Michigan City, 1991 to 2020

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
8.4	January	16.0	40.6
5.6	February	9.7	24.6
3.4	March	6.0	15.2
0.6	April	0.6	1.5
1.0	November	0.7	1.8
5.7	December	7.3	18.5
24.7	Year	40.3	102.4

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in the Gary — Michigan City area varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 11.4 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 2.3 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 22.6 inches, while the lightest years get less than 8.5 inches.

New snow for February ranges from over 15 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 3.5 inches in light years.

When Gary & Michigan City Have Their First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of winter for the Gary — Michigan City area usually arrives in December. About once every three or four years, November also gets a light snowfall.

The season's last snowfall typically happens in March, although sometimes April sees a dusting of new snow.

Gary and Michigan City are normally free of snow every year from May to October.

How Many Snowstorms Gary & Michigan City Get

Just under half the days of snowfall in the Gary — Michigan City area leave just a skiff, amounting to less than an inch, of fresh snow on the ground. For 13 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day usually occur a couple times a year on average. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are seldom seen along Lake Michigan's Indiana shore, typically occurring just once a decade.

Number of days per month and year on average in the Gary — Michigan City area with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
4.5	1.6	January	0.7	0.0
3.3	0.9	February	0.4	0.1
1.8	0.5	March	0.2	0.0
0.4	0.0	April	0.0	0.0
0.5	0.1	November	0.0	0.0
2.6	0.9	December	0.4	0.0
13.1	4.0	Year	1.7	0.1

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Gary & Michigan City

For nearly half of winter days, the Gary — Michigan City area has at least an inch of snow on the ground.

Typically, on two days in each of January and February plus another day in December, the snow covering the cities builds up to ten or more inches deep.

Average total days per month and year in the Gary — Michigan City area with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
17.2	11.3	January	6.9	1.7
12.9	8.1	February	5.9	2.0
4.9	2.5	March	1.7	0.3
0.3	0.0	April	0.0	0.0
1.4	0.3	November	0.1	0.0
9.6	4.9	December	2.4	0.7
46.3	27.1	Year	17.0	4.7