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Climate · Chicago

Chicago in February

Cold and damp, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

February in Chicago is cold: highs near 36°F, lows near 21°F. Rain or snow falls on about two days a week, and the days lengthen by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.February in Chicago is cold: highs near 2°C, lows near -6°C. Rain or snow falls on about two days a week, and the days lengthen by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
36°F2°Caverage
Low
21°F-6°Caverage
Wet days
2a week · 32% of days
Daylight
10h 31mon average

Is February a good time to visit Chicago?

February sits outside Chicago's best months, which run in two parts: June, or September. Expect cold days and rain or snow on about two 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 February sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 36°F in February, against 35°F to 84°F through the year.Highs near 2°C in February, against 2°C to 29°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

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

Cloud cover

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

Daylight

10h 31m in February, against 9h 11m to 15h 10m through the year.

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

Either side

  1. January35°2°low 22°low -6°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. February36°2°low 21°low -6°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  3. March44°7°low 29°low -2°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.

Where Chicago sits, in February

America/Chicago
this place
typical high in February 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-February
6:48 AMsets 5:22 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 February, 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 February

high · low · wet days
See February 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.