he Midwestern United States got pummeled with a historic early-season snowstorm over the past weekend, leaving many to wonder if the precedent for winter 2015/16 has been set. The storm moved quickly across the region from Nov. 20 to 22, setting various snowfall records from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Detroit, Michigan (tmsnrt.rs/1R5dbei). The average first snow can be expected anywhere from mid-October through early December across most of the Midwest, making the timing of this first widespread snowfall relatively normal. However, the intensity was anything but normal. The hardest-hit areas were northern Iowa, northern Illinois, and southern Michigan, where local snow totals were as high as 18 inches (45.72 cm). On average, these areas expect to receive only 1-2 inches of snow during the entire month of November (tmsnrt.rs/1R5ffCO). The numbers were quite astounding in Chicago, the most populous metropolitan area within the impact zone. The two-day snow totals were the second-largest for a November snowstorm since 1884.