Does Rockford Get Any Snow Anymore?

My wife Amy, who loves any and all things involving snow more than most little kids do, looked at me last night as we were outside with our dog, and sadly said, "Remember when Rockford used to get snow in wintertime?"

Sure I do. We were just talking about the winter of 1979, when a record 74.5 inches of snow fell on the Rockford area. I doubled my snow shoveling money by doing driveways and sidewalks, then climbing up to shovel my neighbor's rooftops.

This winter has been much different from that, especially with the least amount of snowfall in the area since around 1900. On or around December 17th was the last time we saw an inch of the white stuff. That's nearly two months. As far as the forecast goes, there's nothing in it regarding snow other than the potential for some flurries today.

It's not just the Rockford area, either. According to ABC-7 in Chicago:

Surprisingly, we are not too far from the seasonal average. The Chicago area has seen over 18 inches so far this winter, with most of that coming in early December. That's only 3 inches away from our normal value up to this point in the season.

If you're someone who needs a constant blanket of snow during the winter months because, well, you just love the stuff, or you're someone who thought that adding a snowplow to your truck would be the key to added income, or even if you finally saved up the money to buy your own snowblower (which has spent most of the winter gathering dust), you might wish to consider a move to one of the following spots to maximize your snow enjoyment:

If moving is not in the cards for you, how about a slip and slide down memory lane: