How Bad is Chicago's weather (Naperville: to buy, landlord, college)

[MSchemist80]

Chicago has a cold climate for more than half the year. Starting in late October the temperature infrequently gets above 50 as a high and Dec/Jan/Feb typical highs in the 20/low 30's and lows in the teens. There are brief warm spells in the 40's but there are also cold snaps with temperatures near/below zero and windchills as high as -40degF. March is similar to November most years with temperatures in the 30/40's for highs and April and Early May are variable depending if it is an early summer year or late winter it can be 40's all through April some years.

We usually get about a dozen or more significant snowfall events >4" and one or two really bad ones >8"

[grapico]

Originally Posted by K 22

Just from my personal experience, the winters here can be BRUTAL but nothing too terrible. It's the high winds that can be annoying (Chicago's flatness helps the wind move, IMO). All of the other seasons don't seem all that different than the weather in the Northeastern Cities.

This is true from looking at data, Chicago dips further in the winter but Fall Spring are usually fine and match up more.

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

We get the same amount of sunlight as everyone else at 41 degrees north latitude. It sucks, but it's not unique to Chicago.

To answer the OP's question, coming from Honolulu you can expect to dislike November through April. We just had the coldest November in decades; it's not usually this bad. However, you have more of an adjustment than someone coming from, say, New York. The city is great and makes Honolulu look like a boring suburb, but there is that weather thing.

You are confusing this with "possible" sunlight hours, not actual sunshine.
The Great Lakes region is more overcast than points both East and West at the same latitude. It's not as bad as the Pac NW or even other parts of the Great Lakes, but it is right behind it in terms of regional sunshine in winter.

http://s236.photobucket.com/user/nom...dia/2.jpg.html

as you can see, the cities hugging the atlantic ocean as well as cities on the plains are sunnier in winter despite being on same parallel.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by American JP

I am from Honolulu, HI. To be honest I hate the humid weather here and look forward to moving to the mainland. Chicago is one of my candidates but I have a friend who just moved here from there and he said the weather there is horrible. The thing is I like chilly weather like Seattle or San Francisco but not ice cold like Alaska. I hate humidity and when it comes to heat I think I would rather have dry heat over sticky humid heat. How bad are the winters in Chicago? I plan to live on a high rise condo which my friend said is better than living in the suburbs and experiencing heavy snow.

Sounds like you will hate the weather.

[chicagogeorge]

Someone coming from tropical Hawaii will certainly need time to adjust to a continental climate.

Originally Posted by K 22

Just from my personal experience, the winters here can be BRUTAL but nothing too terrible. It's the high winds that can be annoying (Chicago's flatness helps the wind move, IMO). All of the other seasons don't seem all that different than the weather in the Northeastern Cities.

That's pretty much true. When compared to say NYC (nearly identical latitude), Chicago winters are way more continental. Much colder. Spring is much more erratic here, especially March and April where there can be large swings in temperature. Not to say that doesn't happen in NYC, it does, but I don't think as often. Summer has nearly identical averages, but Chicago sees greater swings of hot and cool spells. When we get a hot spell we REALLY get a hot spell. When we get a gloomy spell (as we did this past July) it eats up a lot of the summer. I think autumn is generally the same, with the exception of November where it gets cooler faster here.


As for sunshine hours, overall annual sunshine is also very similar to the Northeast

1931-1960 averages




More recent (I think 1961-1990) Still the same though....

[chicagobear]

Well, Obama adjusted.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by chicagogeorge

Someone coming from tropical Hawaii will certainly need time to adjust to a continental climate.





That's pretty much true. When compared to say NYC (nearly identical latitude), Chicago winters are way more continental. Much colder. Spring is much more erratic here, especially March and April where there can be large swings in temperature. Not to say that doesn't happen in NYC, it does, but I don't think as often. Summer has nearly identical averages, but Chicago sees greater swings of hot and cool spells. When we get a hot spell we REALLY get a hot spell. When we get a gloomy spell (as we did this past July) it eats up a lot of the summer. I think autumn is generally the same, with the exception of November where it gets cooler faster here.


As for sunshine hours, overall annual sunshine is also very similar to the Northeast

1931-1960 averages




More recent (I think 1961-1990) Still the same though....

Yes annual sunshine is the same, and summer is nicer with more clear skies, its winter that's the problem. You don't live in annual averages though you live in day to day weather fluctuations which as you say are more erratic. NYC doesn't get near as many cold dips as I posted earlier and has less than half the snow days, just when they get snow it's likely to be heavier. Many years nyc records single digit snow falls. Then others they get a few noreastwrs that pushes the average way up.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by chicagobear

Well, Obama adjusted.

Good point. I still think the OP should find another city.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by American JP

I am from Honolulu, HI.

Ok, just for starters probably 98.9% of all humans hate you. Hawaii is a legitimate tropical paradise. The entire island culture thing means you can goof off all day at the beach or just sleeping in hammock and have a better day than all but a handful of places on earth. Got it? Keep that in mind...

To be honest I hate the humid weather here and look forward to moving to the mainland.

See above, right off the bat most folks are gonna think you are nuts.

Chicago is one of my candidates but I have a friend who just moved here from there and he said the weather there is horrible.

Horrible? How so, we do not get much rain, genereally snow is pretty limited, so details would be great...

The thing is I like chilly weather like Seattle or San Francisco but not ice cold like Alaska.

Have you been to Seattle? It rains. A whole lot. And it ain't like Hawaii rain, where it stops and rainbows come out and people can make love on the beach and say the rain tickles. Seattle is often the "continous drizzle of cold mist interspersed with occiasional torrential downpours". Grey skies. No wonder they drink so much espresso. And while San Fransico ain't as wet they get enough fog to make up for it. Sure, it never gets really cold there, but you could also say it never really gets all that hot there either and that middle range of temps gets kind of boring too. And gimme a break, Alaska goes to the Artic Circle, that ain't like anyplace else on earth. People have to leave their tricks running continually for months at a time lest the fuel freeze solid. Not gonna happen even in North Dakota or Minnesota let alone a state that is separated from Canada by Wisonsin...

I hate humidity and when it comes to heat I think I would rather have dry heat over sticky humid heat.

Why do you live in Hawaii? Have you thought about Las Vegas or Arizona? I mean come on pal...

How bad are the winters in Chicago? I plan to live on a high rise condo which my friend said is better than living in the suburbs and experiencing heavy snow.

Buffalo NY gets order of magnitude more snow than we do, as do places like Vermont, Maine, Utah, even Reno / Tahoe, and of course Michigan(especially the Upper Penisula), Minnesota, basically every city in Canda with the possible exception of Vancouver, and any place at elevation in Idaho or Colorado... If you are in high rise, or really any kind of condo with a paid maintenance staff, you won't have to shovel your own sidewalk, but in even the worst case there are maybe a dozen days where that is needed, not a big deal. And the suburbs get the same weather as Chicago. It is big flat Prarie and the rare occurance of winds from the NE might trigger an ununusal lake effect snow fall, but that would result in more snow near the lake, not the suburbs. Now it is true that should a really heavy snowstorm sock the area during the business day the drive back to the burbs can go from just a few minutes shy of hour to something that is 3x or more, but in such rare horrible conditions getting across the city is no picnic either -- buses have been stranded, it grabs headlines for the epic incompetence of stingy city salt buying and other foolishness.

[grapico]

Yes, as cold as it is, I have never shoveled snow in my life nor owned a shovel or snow blower... so... I think those fears can be put away if you need to. I had a dinky one in my car (when I had a car) ... so, you don't really need a car either if you don't want to drive in snow. There are perks to living in the city. There are some condo buildings with doormen and even private shuttles into DT, you can just wait inside the building until it shows up going to work and it drops you off somewhere downtown. Some condos also have many of services inside the building such as small convenience stores, dry cleaners, gym, etc.

[Lookout Kid]

In my opinion, people complain about the weather far too much in Chicago. Of course we are not in a tropical paradise, but it amazes me when people move somewhere just for the weather, as if that is the only thing that matters. Thankfully Chicago has a lot more to offer than nice sunny days.

But compared to Hawaii, which has freakishly nice weather, it will definitely be an adjustment.