In a wild, turbulent year of weather in Chicago, one thing is certain: 2024 will go down as the warmest year in the history of The Windy City, with weather records dating back 153 years.
According to the National Weather Service, the average temperature in Chicago for 2024 is expected to be between 54.8 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, both above the record 54.5 degrees that was observed in 2012.
Heading into 2024, 2023 marked the third-warmest year in Chicago's history, with an average temperature of 54 degrees.
After 2024 and 2012, 1921 ranks as the city's third-warmest year, with an average temperature of 54.4 degrees.
Additionally, six of the eight warmest years in Chicago's history will have occurred within the last 26 years, with 1921 and 1931 standing as the lone outliers.
We ran some preliminary numbers for 2024 & this year is going to end up the warmest on record in #Chicago, breaking the previous record of 54.5° (set in 2012). The graph below (available at https://t.co/VzsgMAQHwv) shows Chicago's current top 10 warmest years. #ilwx #inwx 1/2 pic.twitter.com/bwVhbq4a1e
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) December 27, 2024
The National Weather Service forecast office also confirmed 2024 will surpass 2023 as the year with the highest number of tornadoes for the Chicago forecast area. The region had 63 confirmed tornadoes in 2024 compared to 58 tornadoes in 2023.
Here are the highlights from 2024:
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JANUARY
The only real taste of 2023-24 winter. Temperatures dropped to -10 degrees with wind chills reaching -30 degrees in the middle of the month. Not to mention the 6 to 13 inches of snowfall. The middle of January accounted for roughly 73% of snow for the season.
FEBRUARY
The warmest February on record for Chicago. The city reached 74 degrees on Feb. 27 - the second-highest temperature ever recorded in the month (75 degrees in 1976). O’Hare Airport received a mere 1.2” of snow; the 11th lowest for the month.
MARCH
The 12th-warmest March on record. The 1 inch of snow at O’Hare Airport is the lowest for March in the last five years. However parts of northern Illinois, near Wisconsin, got up to 9 inches of snow on March 22.
APRIL
An uneventful month, but still the 15th-warmest April for Chicago. Rainfall was about a quarter-inch below average.
MAY
The 12th-warmest May on record. Severe storms led to an EF-0 tornado confirmed near Harvard, Illinois, on May 7.
JUNE
The 10th-warmest June. Severe storms the night of June 22 brought four EF-0 tornadoes to Elburn, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Downers Grove.
JULY
The largest tornado outbreak for the Chicago area came the night of July 15. A total of 32 tornadoes touched down across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. The strongest was an EF-2 from Channahon to Matteson. Six additional tornadoes were confirmed the night before.
AUGUST
Another late-season heat wave with 110 degree temperatures the120-degree feels-like temperatures August 26-27. The heat fueled severe storms causing damage in Wauconda, Des Plaines, Bolingbrook and Evanston.
SEPTEMBER
The second-warmest September on record with an average high temperature over 80 degrees. It was a dry month, which exacerbated a developing drought.
OCTOBER
Another dry and warm month; the ninth-warmest October on record. The area reached 80 degrees on Oct. 30, which is the second-latest 80-degree day in a year (Nov. 1 is the latest). It was 71 degrees on Halloween, but that was at midnight and temperatures crashed into the 40s by trick-or-treating time that evening.
NOVEMBER
The ninth-warmest November. The first accumulating snow of the season arrived Nov. 21 with 1 to 4 inches across the Chicago area.
DECEMBER
A mix of cold and mild days with roughly the same number of days with highs in the 20s as in the 50s. The year will likely end with 2.4 inches of snow at O’Hare for the month; Chicago’s sixth consecutive December with less than 3.5 inches of snow.
Takeaways
The trend over the years in Chicago is clear; it’s getting warmer, winters are becoming milder, and severe weather is becoming more active, which is believed to be a direct cause of climate change. Four of the last five years in Chicago make up the top eight warmest years.
There will still be variability in day-to-day weather; meaning cold and snow spells in winter and some cooler days in summer, but it’s believed we’ll continue to see more active severe weather and heavy rain events in the future.
