Dear Chicagoans (Ina, Bridgeport, Hartford: estimate, best weather, cities)

[IEnjoyBeer]

Chicago is a potential re-location option for me and I have one question.


Is summer really the only good time in Chicago weather wise? I prefer warmer climates, as I hate cold and snow. I grew up in the Northeast but I have had enough of it, however, Chicago is a city I would make an exception for.

Ive only been out there in the summer time, and love it. But as far as Fall, Winter and Spring go?

Winters I hear are cloudy and frigid, and really, not too much of a difference between other NE cities but I still dont like it regardless. Is it really cloudy most of the winter?

Springs and Falls, also last only one month usually?

Thanks guys!

[Chicago60614]

Fall is normally beautiful. From September through early November the temps will slide from around 80 degrees to upper 50's, but it's not that freezing wind or chill time of the year. It's still great for being outdoors, and there are plenty of quite warm days. The lake is still warm and tends to help for the city.

Spring is a "hot mess", and normally not temp wise. It can get up to 70 and down to the 30's and then just go back and forth constantly. Last year we were in the 70's and 80's for a large chunk of March, but now this year we're just barely pushing 40 degrees.

Summer is normally quite stable and beautiful with temps from around 75 to 90. It can and does get humid, but it goes in "spells" and isn't a constant.

Winter starts off ok in December with temps in the 40's, but then slide into the 20's and 30's for most of January and February. February is normally the month people are just "over" winter and want it to warm up. This year we had 40's and 50's in December and January, and then in February winter FINALLY hit. Suppose to be creeping into the 40's and 50's during the next 10 days though, which means our "winter" this year was incredibly short.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by IEnjoyBeer

Is summer really the only good time in Chicago weather wise? I prefer warmer climates, as I hate cold and snow. I grew up in the Northeast but I have had enough of it, however, Chicago is a city I would make an exception for.


Ive only been out there in the summer time, and love it. But as far as Fall, Winter and Spring go?

Depends on what you're used to. I find Fall quite good and Spring is not bad either. The average high, historically, is 60 degrees and above from April to Occtober. Between this time, the temps are pretty similar to what you'd find in NYC. Compared to Boston, Chicago is actually warmer from March until October and then Boston i warmer by like 4-6 degrees in the winter.

As far as snow goes, it's nothing like the NE in my opinion. I grew up in Minnesota, which gets snow like parts of the NE, and in the city itself here, the snowfall is nothing. We've had some this year, but the northeast gets far far more snow. If you're in the burbs of Chicago, you'll get more snow, but the closer you are to the lake usually the less snow in my experience here.

Winters I hear are cloudy and frigid, and really, not too much of a difference between other NE cities but I still dont like it regardless. Is it really cloudy most of the winter?

Springs and Falls, also last only one month usually?
Thanks guys!

Frigid? No. I mean it's cold but not that much different from the NE temperature wise. Maybe a few degrees colder than non upstate NY. Winter temps in Chicago are basically a little above what you might find in Buffalo. As far as the snow goes, in the city...usually not a lot. Every once in awhile you'll get a huge snow storm, but usually? No. Last year we didn't even have any snow on the ground. This year it barely even snowed until about 2 weeks ago. Now we have maybe 4 inches on the ground in the city and I bet most of it will be gone by next week as it's supposed to be 50 on Sunday.

Spring depends. What I find here, as someone who's originally from Minnesota, is that people like to over estimate their winters and springs here, but that's possibly because they have experienced a winter/spring/whatever anytime else. It can be weird in the spring here since the jet stream goes right by, but in my experience again, Spring and Fall usually last a few months each (Spring might be only a month every once in awhile, but I think that's not very common). As someone who grew up in a place where it snowed a lot, the springs here are definitely a step up even if they're unpredictable sometimes (Last year it was in the 70s and 80s in middle/end of march and then a week later there were a few days of 45 degrees, then it came back up to 60 for a little bit..etc).

The sun thing...Chicago sees about a month more of completely sunny days per year than Buffalo and maybe 1.5 weeks less than somewhere like Boston, and maybe 2-2.5 weeks less per year than NYC. About the same or maybe a little more than some of the cities in Connecticut and Philadelphia. This isn't taking into account partially sunny days either..so who knows what the real thing is. Is it cloudy every single day in Chicago in the winter? No. You'll have normally a few days in a row of clouds, but in my experience nothing for weeks on end or anything.


Winters here ARE cold, but not that much worse than the NE. The snowfall totals are far worse on average in the NE too

[IEnjoyBeer]

Thank you.

I also read Chicago's possible % sunshine and was amazed at the difference in sun between warmer months and colder.

In a matter of two months (Sept-Nov) it goes from 60% to 38%. Thats pretty crazy. December is 37%.

Does it get really cloudy in the winter?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by IEnjoyBeer

Does it get really cloudy in the winter?

Any climate with winter is going to be cloudy, but it's not that much drastically different than the NE outside of NYC. Think about this...Buffalo gets around 2.5X the amount of snow on average than Chicago. You'd need more cloudy days for that alone. You will have spells of 4 straight cloudy days sometimes but in my experience it's rare to go a whole week without some sun.

As far as snowfall goes:
Snowfall - Average Total In Inches

Syracuse - 115.6 Inches
Buffalo - 93.6 Inches
Minneapolis - 49.9 Inches
Hartford - 49 Inches
Milwaukee - 47.3 Inches
Boston - 42.2 inches
Chicago - 38.5 Inches
Providence - 35.5 Inches
New York - 28.4 Inches
Bridgeport - 26.2 Inches

[IEnjoyBeer]

Yeah Buffalo averages 70-75% cloud cover annually.

Upstate NY in general is on par with Seattle and Portland as far as cloud cover goes.


I get cold rather easily and hate being cold. My ideal temperature is at least 65-70, to 95. Dry or humid.

Im thinking Chicago really only offers that at most 3 months of the year.

I may have to reside to just visiting Chicago during then, since really, its the city at its best at that time anyway.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by IEnjoyBeer

I get cold rather easily and hate being cold. My ideal temperature is at least 65-70, to 95. Dry or humid.

Well, Chicago is not the place for that, lol (except summer of course). You get cold even with a good jacket, gloves, 180s/hat? Blood circulation too man..

Im thinking Chicago really only offers that at most 3 months of the year.

Really depends, but historically yes..middle to end of December, January, February...and part of March sometimes, but not always. Hit or miss of course because it can be mild some years and colder other years.

I may have to reside to just visiting Chicago during then, since really, its the city at its best at that time anyway.

Probably a good idea to visit in winter to see. Wait, are you talking about winter or summer? Summer is when the city is at its best by far.

[IEnjoyBeer]

Yes summer is what im talking about.


Still one of my favorite cities by far, ill just have to resort to visiting to mostly summers.

[BigLake]

I would make the argument that Chicago from early Sept. to 3rd week of October has defensibly the best weather in the United States, anywhere, anytime. Sounds nuts right? Until you experience it. Its perenially between 65 and 80 the entire time, very little rain, but light winds and Fall color begins. It's weather Utopia. That said, Winter is as bad as advertised, Sprin does not start until late April and a Chicago Summer can be hot (but incredibly active and fun)...

...but September in Chicago? Tough to beat.

[chicagobear]

Summer is great, fall is decent, winter is tolerable, and spring is cold. My biggest complaint is with the cold springs.