October has only just arrived here in Johnsburg and yet this blog wants you to start thinking about winterizing your car, truck or SUV? Kinda jumpin’ in the gun there, fella. Is it really too early to start thinking about winterizing your vehicle?

Truth be told, according to one weather Website, we’ll see some snowfall in Johnsburg every three or four years, but no real accumulation. It’s not until November that we can expect to see some snowfall every year. And the chances of accumulation are very real that month.

According to that same Website, we can expect the following in terms of snow accumulation in November, on average, this is how many days, per accumulation, we can expect here in Johnsburg (the numbers for October are in parentheses):

• 1-inch – 2.8 days (0.1 days)
• 3-inches – 1 day (0.1 days)
• 5-inches – 0.3 days (0.0 days)
• 10-inches – 0.1 days (0.0 days)

The average minimum temperature in Johnsburg 46-degrees Fahrenheit. The average maximum temperature is 63-degrees. Last year, Oct. 28 and 31, we had temperatures below freezing. In 2018, we dropped to the freezing mark on Oct. 13. In 2009, we hit 29-degrees on Oct. 11. 

We hit 30 degrees on Oct. 7, 2001, and 31 degrees on that day in 2000. Dropping below freezing, at some point during October, is quite common, in fact. But consider that, in 2014, we hit 0 degrees (yes, 32 degrees below freezing) on Oct. 17. We had several days in October of 1995 that were that cold.

The point is that temperatures will begin to fall in October. The average low temperature in Johnsburg for October is 49.94 degrees. That’s not terrible. Some might say it’s good sleeping weather. However, the average low temperature for November in these parts is 35.6 degrees. And, if that’s the average low, you can bet we’ll see low temperatures substantially lower than that.

You could wait to the last minute to have your car winterized but why would you. Even in October, you can’t take for granted what the weather will throw at you and your car, truck or SUV here in Johnsburg. It doesn’t hurt to prepare earlier than necessary; it can hurt to winterize your vehicle too late.