Wisconsin ยท season guide
Sledding season in Madison
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Madison Dane Co Rgnl Airport weather station, about 5 miles from the middle of our Madison hill list show November as the first month that averages an inch of snow or more (3 inches). The normals are monthly averages, so they can't give a first-snow date. Some years come early, some late.
October snow is part of the record here: the normal for that month is 0.6 inches.
January is the snowiest month on average, at 13.7 inches.
Across a normal year the station records about 51.8 inches of snow. That puts Madison at 35 of 98 metros on this site, ranked from snowiest down.
Once it arrives, it tends to stay: about 78 days a year have at least an inch of snow on the ground.
For comparison, Rockford, the nearest metro on our list, averages 37.1 inches, less than here.
9 of the 9 hills we list here come from a city, county or park district page.
Month by month
| Month | Average snowfall | Days with 1 inch or more of new snow | Days with 1 inch or more on the ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 0.6 inches | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| November | 3 inches | 1.0 | 3.3 |
| December | 12 inches | 3.2 | 16.0 |
| January | 13.7 inches | 3.9 | 24.2 |
| February | 12.8 inches | 3.7 | 22.4 |
| March | 7 inches | 2.1 | 10.1 |
| April | 2.6 inches | 0.8 | 1.3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, station USW00014837. "Not stated by source" means NOAA publishes no value for that station.
Lit hills
1 hill on our Madison list has lights according to the cited source. Light schedules change, so check the source page before a night trip.
Local rules
We didn't find a city-wide sledding rule for Madison in the sources we checked. Individual parks may post their own signs, and those win.
Short answers
When does it usually start snowing in Madison?
In NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Madison Dane Co Rgnl Airport station, November is the first month averaging an inch of snow or more. The normals are monthly averages, not a date.
How much snow does Madison get in a year?
About 51.8 inches a year at the Madison Dane Co Rgnl Airport station, per NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals.
Are there lit sledding hills in Madison?
Yes. 1 hill on our list has lights per the cited source: Elver Park.
Updated