The climate of Chicago
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental. Hot summers and cold winters, with rain all year. A big seasonal swing. Summers can be hot and humid, winters are cold with snow, and there is no dry season.
Chicago is north of the equator, so summer falls in June to August and winter in December to February. The 1901 to 1930 map puts Chicago in the same zone, Dfa.
Chicago: then, now and by 2100
| Map | Climate zone | Compared with now |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 to 1930 | Dfa Hot-summer humid continental | Same as now |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | Dfa Hot-summer humid continental | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | Dfa Hot-summer humid continental | Same as now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | Dfa Hot-summer humid continental | Same as now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | Cfa Humid subtropical | Different from now |
The 2071 to 2099 rows are model projections under three emissions scenarios, not forecasts. The 1901 to 1930 row is a reconstruction. All come from Beck et al. (2023).
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the model keeps Chicago in Dfa in 2071 to 2099. Under the high-emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5) it is Cfa (humid subtropical).
Cities with the same climate as Chicago
Other big cities that are Dfa (hot-summer humid continental) in 1991 to 2020, at most two per country:
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Population of Chicago from GeoNames: 2,664,452 (rank 158 in our list of 1,000). Climate data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0. Data sources and licences.