ClimateExplore the planning map
Climate · Chicago

Chicago in December

Chilly and damp, as the days hold steady.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Chicago is chilly: highs near 41°F, lows near 29°F. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 11 minutes.December in Chicago is chilly: highs near 5°C, lows near -2°C. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 11 minutes.

High
41°F5°Caverage
Low
29°F-2°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 37% of days
Daylight
9h 11mon average

Is December a good time to visit Chicago?

December sits outside Chicago's best months, which run in two parts: June, or September. Expect chilly days and rain or snow on about three days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 41°F in December, against 35°F to 84°F through the year.Highs near 5°C in December, against 2°C to 29°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

37% of days in December, against 32% to 43% through the year.

Cloud cover

60% cover in December, against 36% to 63% through the year.

Daylight

9h 11m in December, against 9h 11m to 15h 10m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. November52°11°low 40°low 4°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  2. December41°5°low 29°low -2°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. January35°2°low 22°low -6°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Chicago sits, in December

America/Chicago
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
7:11 AMsets 4:20 PM
Above the sea
175 mlow-lying
Latitude
41.9°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Dubuque259 km west

The land around Chicago, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in United States in December

high · low · wet days
See December on the planning mapThe whole year in Chicago

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Chicago. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.