Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Denver is drier so it cools off more at night, but if you notice the difference between the daytime highs is far greater than the difference between overnight lows. For example the avg high is 32 F in Chicago in January vs 47 F for Denver so a 15 F difference while the overnight lows there's only a 3 F difference (19 F vs 16 F) which means you'd feel a lot colder in Chicago. The best way to tell where you'd be colder is by looking at the "mean temp". In January the mean temp in Chicago is 25.5 F versus 31.5 F for Denver. And depending on where you are in Chicago, the average low is likely to be lower than 16 F (in suburbs away from Lake Michigan) .
In January the mean temp in Chicago is 25.5 F versus 31.5 F for Denver. And depending on where you are in Chicago, the average low is likely to be lower than 16 F (in suburbs away from Lake Michigan) .
That's true. Lows near or on the lakefront hover around 20 degrees in January. UofC is jsut over a mile away from the shore....
West suburban Wheaton gets down to 14 degrees in January
Northwest suburban Streamwood (just west of O'Hare) has an average low of under 11 degrees in January. O'Hare average low is 16.5F. Their distance is 20 miles apart.
Last edited by chicagogeorge; 02-24-2014 at 05:45 AM..
A question for Chicagogeorge...
I was wondering, does Chicago have a strong urban heat island effect, with night lows much higher (up to a difference of 10 F) than the surrounding countryside areas? Or that effect only occurr in downtown, being much dense than the generally low-density suburbs?
I can't imagine those cold night lows in an area dominated by super tall skyscrapers...
What are the averages of the Loop and those of suburbs entirely inglobated in the urban area like Cicero, Avondale or Englewood?
Absolutely, Midway and UofC's minimums are prime examples of the UHI. I suspect the Loop would have even higher minimums
Ok, so O'Hare airport gets such kind of lows despite being partly influenced by the UHI! That's crazy
I don't know if it is correct, but having the Loop an extremely high density I would expect there a hardiness zone 7-8 instead of 5-6 like the rest of the (huge) city...
I guess it's not simple to define the climate of a city which has roughly the extension of 1/4 of my region in Italy...
A typical Chicago winter is far warmer than a Minneapolis winter. And oddly, our average lows in winter are the same as Chicago. But suburbs of Chicago are much colder. Chicago suburbs have winter lows similar to the Skylands of NJ. Additionally, our summer nights are significantly cooler than Chicago and any of its suburbs.
Winter Temperatures in Minneapolis resemble Massena, NY. But, summers in Massena fail to cross 90 F on most years. Average High/Low for summer in Massena is 78/56 F.
Last edited by Adi from the Brunswicks; 02-24-2014 at 07:12 AM..
A question for Chicagogeorge...
I was wondering, does Chicago have a strong urban heat island effect, with night lows much higher (up to a difference of 10 F) than the surrounding countryside areas?
What I know, I've seen is.. there's a reason why they call it the "windy city"
What I know, I've seen is.. there's a reason why they call it the "windy city"
Yep and it has nothing to do with the weather.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
