Kansas City Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Kansas City, Missouri has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Kansas City usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the city normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Kansas City can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.
All the numbers are averages, based on weather data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at the Kansas City Downtown Airport.
How Often it Snows in Kansas 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).
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 | January | 4.1 | 10.4 |
| 2.1 | February | 3.2 | 8.1 |
| 0.6 | March | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| 0.1 | April | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 0.1 | October | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 0.4 | November | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 2.5 | December | 4.4 | 11.2 |
| 8.3 | Year | 13.4 | 34.0 |
These averages don't show how different from one year to the next the amount of snow that Kansas City gets.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 6.5 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 0.2 inches for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 6.4 inches, while the lightest years get half an inch or less.
New snow for February ranges from over five inches in heavy snowfall years to none in other years.
When Kansas City Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of winter for Kansas City usually arrives in December. But November and even October are known to occasionally get a little snow.
Timing of the season's last snowfall varies a lot from year to year in Kansas City. The season's last snowfall can happen anytime from January to April.
Kansas City is normally free of snow every year from May to September.
How Many Snowstorms Kansas City Gets
Although it doesn't snow on many days of the year in Kansas City, when it does snow, usually an inch or more lands on the ground. For five days a year on average, the amount of new snow in the city totals at least an inch.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day typically don't occur every year. Major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are not at all normal here.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3 | 0.5 | January | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 1.1 | 0.3 | February | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.4 | 0.1 | March | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | April | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | October | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | November | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1.7 | 0.4 | December | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 4.8 | 1.3 | Year | 0.2 | 0.0 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Kansas City
About one in seven winter days at Kansas City has at least an inch of snow on the ground.
For a day in December, in January and in February, on average, the snow covering Kansas City gets to five or more inches deep.
Most years, the snowpack never tops ten inches. The snow is most likely to accumulate that much in January.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | 2.2 | January | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| 3.4 | 1.7 | February | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| 0.5 | 0.2 | March | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | November | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 4.0 | 2.0 | December | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 13.8 | 6.1 | Year | 2.9 | 0.1 |
Reference
National Climatic Data Center. NOAA's 1981-2010 Climate Normals.