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Climate · Chicago

Chicago in October

Mild and damp, as the days shorten.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

October in Chicago is mild: highs near 66°F, lows near 53°F. Rain falls on about two days a week, and the days shorten by 57 minutes from the first week to the last.October in Chicago is mild: highs near 19°C, lows near 12°C. Rain falls on about two days a week, and the days shorten by 57 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
66°F19°Caverage
Low
53°F12°Caverage
Wet days
2a week · 34% of days
Daylight
10h 57mon average

Is October a good time to visit Chicago?

A good month, just outside Chicago's best months, which run in two parts: June, or September.

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 October sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 66°F in October, against 35°F to 84°F through the year.Highs near 19°C in October, against 2°C to 29°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

34% of days in October, against 32% to 43% through the year.

Cloud cover

42% cover in October, against 36% to 63% through the year.

Daylight

10h 57m in October, against 9h 11m to 15h 10m through the year.

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

Either side

  1. September77°25°low 63°low 17°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  2. October66°19°low 53°low 12°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  3. November52°11°low 40°low 4°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.

Where Chicago sits, in October

America/Chicago
this place
typical high in October 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-October
7:01 AMsets 6:11 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 October, 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 October

high · low · wet days
See October 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.