Is April normally this cold & depressing in Chicago? (estate, humid)

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Very true - I'm just hoping we can have a 'normal' summer. After the blizzard and the non-existant spring, if we have a summer like 2009, I will be in a bad mood heading into next winter.

I'm actually hoping we have a summer like 2009. I hate hot, humid weather.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Very true - I'm just hoping we can have a 'normal' summer. After the blizzard and the non-existant spring, if we have a summer like 2009, I will be in a bad mood heading into next winter.

Darling, valium. Don't tell me jdiddy-daddy isn't properly stocked with benzos.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Darling, valium. Don't tell me jdiddy-daddy isn't properly stocked with benzos.

When did "City-Data > Chicago" become Studio 54?

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by chicagoblues2011

I recently moved to Chicago from Pittsburgh, PA in late March. Now I think Chicago is a great city and has a lot to offer in terms of education, culture, and amenities, but this is the most cold and depressing April I can remember.

Before moving, I thought I had done my research comparing the climates of Chicago and Pittsburgh:

MOD CUT

Based on the results, I thought that the climates would be more or less the same, with Chicago having a slightly colder winter (December-February), which I'm ok with, as I find the snow beautiful in winter.

What I'm wondering: Is weather.com full of it, or is this an abnormally bad April for Chicago?

I don't mind a cold winter, but I find a cold, ugly, rainy, and bloomless April utterly depressing.

In Pittsburgh, April averages highs in the 60s, with some 50s (even a day or 2 in the 40s) in the early month and some 70s at the end of the month (possibly a day or two in the 80s), but it actually feels like and looks like spring, for the most part. The grass is more or less green by late March/very early April. Trees start blooming around April 10 (give or take), and by April 20 the trees are a light fuzz of green and typically are full by May 10 or so.

That is what I'm used to. April 2011 in Chicago was very depressing. Now I really like the city and all that it has to offer. I'm just wondering if I should prepare for the majority of Aprils to be cold, dreary, and bloomless, or if 2011 was a particularly bad year. I'm hoping for the latter, but I want to know the truth.

Yes, springs here are typically horrible until Lake Michigan water temperatures warms up to at least about 50 degrees. Until that point, the city is constantly plaugued with winds out of the northeast or east ushering in icy damp air that has traveled over about 100 miles of ice water basically. This is known as "Lake Wind Season" that said winds blow out of the NE or E some 60% of the time in March and April. This is caused from the land mass heating up during the day faster than water. As this happens warm air rises meaning it will need to replaced with something so as that air rises the cold air along the surface of the lake rushes inland usually up to about 40 miles from the shore. This is also the reason why late in the evening or morning hours you will notice there is almost no wind yet and it is typically calm. Pressures are stable as temperatures from the land to the middle of the lake are close in range vs. 2PM when it is still for instance like today 42 mid lake (air) and already 60 in Joliet (Big range in temperatures in only 40 miles). It's the same situation as San Francisco in the early summer basically. Anyhow, once the water warms up some, pressures stabilize meaning winds will switch direction and become more southerly or westerly and then you see Chicago rapidly go from some sort of blahzay spring/winter type weather to hot and humid summer weather.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Yes, springs here are typically horrible until Lake Michigan water temperatures warms up to at least about 50 degrees. Until that point, the city is constantly plaugued with winds out of the northeast or east ushering in icy damp air that has traveled over about 100 miles of ice water basically. This is known as "Lake Wind Season" that said winds blow out of the NE or E some 60% of the time in March and April. This is caused from the land mass heating up during the day faster than water. As this happens warm air rises meaning it will need to replaced with something so as that air rises the cold air along the surface of the lake rushes inland usually up to about 40 miles from the shore. This is also the reason why late in the evening or morning hours you will notice there is almost no wind yet and it is typically calm. Pressures are stable as temperatures from the land to the middle of the lake are close in range vs. 2PM when it is still for instance like today 42 mid lake (air) and already 60 in Joliet (Big range in temperatures in only 40 miles). It's the same situation as San Francisco in the early summer basically. Anyhow, once the water warms up some, pressures stabilize meaning winds will switch direction and become more southerly or westerly and then you see Chicago rapidly go from some sort of blahzay spring/winter type weather to hot and humid summer weather.

Well, at least that wall of text is informative and helpful.

[NYrules]

Attached is a copy of WGN's wind map showing the winds how they turn off the lake. This is at 3PM 4/29/2011. Prime example of the heating of the day causing winds to rush in off the icy water.

[izzystradlin]

This April was the wettest in Illinois history. That should tell you something.

Last month breaks 1957 record for wettest April ever in Illinois - Chicago Sun-Times

I am willing to bet it was up there in Chicago history as well.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by izzystradlin

This April was the wettest in Illinois history. That should tell you something.

Last month breaks 1957 record for wettest April ever in Illinois - Chicago Sun-Times

I am willing to bet it was up there in Chicago history as well.

Yeah it rained a lot, but it was mostly sprinkles and drizzles not big storms.

[izzystradlin]

Originally Posted by chirack

Yeah it rained a lot, but it was mostly sprinkles and drizzles not big storms.

The point I am making is the amount of rainy days this April was not normal.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by izzystradlin

The point I am making is the amount of rainy days this April was not normal.

no, it isn't normal, but it wasn't much out of the ordinary...basically i'd say

you get 1 out of 3, you'll have a crappy april where it still feels like a mild winter, a normal april, mix of 40s-60s, little rain, or a nice april where you get several days in the 70s-80s and more sun... april is hit or miss, never consistent. The problem this year was both march AND april were crappier than usual...but it isn't like it is a surprise, it happens. Nobody really cares if the summer is hot, or the winter is cold, it is expected. People start getting cranky when winter prolongs into the spring, and they basically miss spring entirely, or say October is rainy and miserable and starting to snow already before Halloween, (which last year was really nice)
The winter this year on the other hand, outside of the record blizzard, wasn't that bad in terms of really cold days, only a few single digit type days, some years I have seen 20-25 days worth of them.