Traverse City Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

How Often it Snows in Traverse City

This first table lists monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

Average total snowfall and days with fresh snow in Traverse City

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
17.9	January	32.3	82.0
14.6	February	21.4	54.4
7.1	March	12.3	31.2
2.7	April	4.7	11.9
0.1	May	0.0	0.0
0.2	October	0.1	0.3
5.0	November	5.6	14.2
13.3	December	24.6	62.5
60.9	Year	101.0	256.5

These averages don't show how much Traverse City's snowfall varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 33.8 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 10.1 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 45.3 inches, while the lightest years get less than 20.6 inches.

Snow in February ranges from over 24.8 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 17.4 inches in light years.

When Traverse City Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

Traverse City's first snowfall of winter usually arrives in November. The season's last snowfall typically happens in April. Although rare, it can snow in May or October.

Traverse City is normally free of snow every year from June to September.

How Many Snowstorms Traverse City Gets

Most days of snowfall in Traverse City result in at least an inch left on the ground. For 10 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur three or four times a year. Major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day don't happen here every year.

Number of days per month and year on average in Traverse City 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
10.0	3.2	January	1.1	0.1
7.6	2.1	February	0.6	0.1
3.9	1.1	March	0.3	0.1
1.5	0.5	April	0.3	0.0
0.0	0.0	October	0.0	0.0
2.0	0.5	November	0.3	0.0
7.5	2.3	December	0.9	0.1
32.5	9.7	Year	3.5	0.4

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Traverse City

For most of winter, Traverse City has at least three inches of snow on the ground. It often builds up to ten inches or more. On average, the snowpack amounts to twenty inches or more on four days a year.

Average total days per month and year in Traverse City 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
28.0	24.7	January	19.3	8.1
27.2	25.6	February	21.7	13.5
19.6	17.1	March	14.2	6.9
3.5	2.0	April	1.2	0.0
0.1	0.0	October	0.0	0.0
4.6	2.2	November	1.1	0.0
19.5	14.7	December	10.8	2.3
102.5	86.3	Year	68.3	30.8