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Chicago Weather Records & Milestones

🌡️
All-Time Record High
105°F
Set July 24, 1934 at O’Hare. Chicago weather records date back to 1871 — over 155 years of climate history.
🥶
All-Time Record Low
−27°F
Set January 20, 1985. The Polar Vortex of Jan 2019 came close, hitting −23°F — the coldest in Chicago in 34 years.
❄️
Greatest Single-Day Snowfall
18.6"
January 2, 1999 — the snowiest single day on record. The snowiest winter ever was 1977–78 with 82.3" total snowfall.
⛄
Snowiest Winter on Record
82.3" — 1977–78
More than 2.5x the average of ~29". Snow was on the ground for 52 consecutive days that winter.
🌧️
Wettest Year on Record
50.86" — 2008
Nearly double the driest year (22.22" in 1962). Normal annual rainfall for Chicago is about 38".
☀️
Record Early Spring Warmth
73°F — March 9, 2026
Broke the March 9 record of 72°F (1955). At 73°F, this warmth normally doesn’t arrive in Chicago until May 23.

Source: NWS Chicago Climate Records • Records from 1871–present

⛈️ Illinois Severe Weather: 2026 Season Overview

Illinois has faced one of its most active severe weather seasons on record in 2026. The year opened with a historic outbreak on March 10–12, when a powerful supercell near Kankakee produced an EF-3 tornado and potentially record-breaking hail measuring over 6 inches in diameter — challenging the former Illinois state hail record of 4.75 inches. Three people were killed and at least 17 injured in that outbreak alone.

The severe weather continued through spring. On April 17–18, a major outbreak brought 12 confirmed tornadoes across the NWS Chicago forecast area, significant wind damage near Bloomington-Normal, and rainfall totals of 4 to 6 inches along the Wisconsin border — triggering major flooding on the Rock, Fox, and Des Plaines rivers. Chicago O'Hare set a daily rainfall record of 2.43 inches on April 14. By early May, Illinois had recorded 108 confirmed tornadoes, 188 large hail reports, and 502 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings — both tornado and severe thunderstorm warning counts the highest on record through that date.

108
Confirmed Tornadoes
6.6"
Largest Hail (Kankakee)
188
Large Hail Reports
EF-3
Strongest Tornado

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