Chicago Christmas Climate Data

Christmas Weather for Northern Illinois: Statistics for Chicago and Rockford

Chicago:
The following statistics comprises 136 years of data, however snowfall data began in 1885, so it is composed of 123 years of data. Data collection began at the University of Chicago, then at Midway, and currently at O'Hare which is now the official station for Chicago.

High Temperatures for Christmas at Chicago

Frequency distribution of high temperatures for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent range of high temperatures on Christmas is in between 30 and 39 degrees. The normal high for Christmas at Chicago is 32 degrees, which falls in the most frequent range. The highest temperature recorded on Christmas is 64 degrees set in 1982. The coldest high temperature on Christmas is -5 degrees which occurred in 1983. Last year, the high temperature was 42 degrees, which is in the 3rd most common range of high temperatures.

Low Temperatures for Christmas at Chicago

Frequency distribution of low temperatures for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent range of low temperatures on Christmas is in between 20 and 29 degrees. The normal low temperature on Christmas in Chicago is 17 degrees. The lowest temperature recorded on Christmas is -17 degrees which occurred in 1983. The highest low temperature for Christmas was 46 degrees in 1936. Last year, the low temperature was 21 degrees, which is in the most common range of low temperatures.

Frequency distribution of precipitation for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent amount of precipitation recorded on Christmas is 0.00”, which accounts for 38% of the days in the dataset. The next most frequent range is 0.02” to 0.25. The highest amount of precipitation on Christmas occurred in 1909 and 1950 when 0.50” of precipitation fell. There has never been an instance where over an inch of precipitation fell on Christmas. Last year, no precipitation fell.

Frequency distribution of snowfall for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas is 0.0”, which accounts for 46% of the days in the dataset. The next most frequent range is a Trace, followed closely by 0.1” to 0.9”. The highest amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas occurred in 1950 when 5.1” of snow fell. Last year, no snow fell.

ADDITIONAL CHRISTMAS CLIMATE DATA ( * MEANS LAST OCCURRENCE)

MAX TEMP WARMEST	MIN TEMP WARMEST	PCPN WETTEST	SNOW MOST
64 1982	46 1936	0.50 1909, 1950	5.1 1950
56 1895, 1936	42 1877, 1940	0.47 1982	5.0 1909
55 1971	36 1982	0.38 1957	4.3 1933
52 1891, 1893, 1994	35 1881, 1888 1941, 1957	0.35 1949, 1973	4.1 1951
50 1877, 1940	34 1891, 1913 1923, 1973	0.34 1877, 1879 1965	3.9 1935
49 1932	33 * 2005	0.32 1951
47 1889	32 1911, 1912 1932, 1979	0.28 1933
46 1943, 1946	31 1907, 1922 1949, 1954	0.26 1903
45 1922, 1954 1957, 1959	30 * 2006	0.22 1882
44 1881, 1973	29 * 1987	0.20 1964

MAX TEMP COLDEST	MIN TEMP COLDEST	PCPN DRIEST	SNOW LEAST
-5 1983	-17 1983	0.00 * 2007	0.0 * 2007
2 1985	-11 1985	T *2006	T * 2006
6 1924	-8 1980	0.01 * 1978	0.1 * 1949
9 1996	-7 2000	0.02 * 2004	0.2 1929, 1948 1995, 2001
10 1892, 1902	-6 1924	0.03 * 2005	0.3 * 2004
15 1878, 1879 1899, 1977	-3 1984	0.04 1918, 1934, 1944
16 1914	-2 1892, 1903, 1935	0.05 1898, 1979
17 1980, 2000	-1 1914, 1990	0.07 1940
18 1884, 1900 1968, 1993	0 1944, 1977	0.08 2002
19 1984, 2004	1 1968, 1996	0.09 1947, 1967

Updated 12/19/2008 TJH and ACS

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office