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Chicago, IL vs Palo Alto, CA weather comparison

Chicago

IL

Chicago picks up around 37 more inches of snow each winter.

Palo Alto has around 89 fewer freezing nights a year. Palo Alto sees rain or snow on roughly 76 fewer days each year.

The year at a glance

Averages from 30 years of climate history, 1991-2020

Annual weather statistics for Chicago, IL and Palo Alto, CA
ChicagoMetricPalo Alto
180 daysSunny daysclear or partly cloudy skies234 days
39 inPrecipitationper year21 in
132 daysWet daysrain or snow per year56 days
37 inSnowfallper year0 in
16 daysHot daysabove 90 °F17 days
102 daysFreezing nightsat or below 32 °F12 days
71%Humidityaverage relative74%
52 °FAverage temperatureyear round59 °F

Monthly temperatures

Average daily high and low for each month, in °F. The gap between the two lines is what an ordinary day feels like across the year.

ChicagoPalo Alto

Daily highs

406080JanMarMayJulSepNovChicago, Jan: 32 °FChicago, Feb: 36 °FChicago, Mar: 46 °FChicago, Apr: 57 °FChicago, May: 68 °FChicago, Jun: 78 °FChicago, Jul: 83 °FChicago, Aug: 81 °FChicago, Sep: 75 °FChicago, Oct: 62 °FChicago, Nov: 49 °FChicago, Dec: 37 °FPalo Alto, Jan: 59 °FPalo Alto, Feb: 62 °FPalo Alto, Mar: 66 °FPalo Alto, Apr: 70 °FPalo Alto, May: 74 °FPalo Alto, Jun: 79 °FPalo Alto, Jul: 80 °FPalo Alto, Aug: 80 °FPalo Alto, Sep: 80 °FPalo Alto, Oct: 75 °FPalo Alto, Nov: 65 °FPalo Alto, Dec: 58 °F

Daily lows

204060JanMarMayJulSepNovChicago, Jan: 20 °FChicago, Feb: 23 °FChicago, Mar: 31 °FChicago, Apr: 41 °FChicago, May: 51 °FChicago, Jun: 61 °FChicago, Jul: 67 °FChicago, Aug: 67 °FChicago, Sep: 60 °FChicago, Oct: 47 °FChicago, Nov: 36 °FChicago, Dec: 25 °FPalo Alto, Jan: 40 °FPalo Alto, Feb: 42 °FPalo Alto, Mar: 44 °FPalo Alto, Apr: 46 °FPalo Alto, May: 50 °FPalo Alto, Jun: 53 °FPalo Alto, Jul: 56 °FPalo Alto, Aug: 56 °FPalo Alto, Sep: 54 °FPalo Alto, Oct: 49 °FPalo Alto, Nov: 43 °FPalo Alto, Dec: 39 °F
View monthly temperatures as a table
Monthly temperatures (°F)
CityJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Chicago high323646576878838175624937
Palo Alto high596266707479808080756558
Chicago low202331415161676760473625
Palo Alto low404244465053565654494339

Monthly precipitation

Total rain plus melted snow for each month, in inches. Taller bars mean wetter months.

ChicagoPalo Alto
0.02.04.0JanMarMayJulSepNovChicago, Jan: 2.4 inChicago, Feb: 2.1 inChicago, Mar: 2.8 inChicago, Apr: 4.5 inChicago, May: 4.4 inChicago, Jun: 4.0 inChicago, Jul: 3.6 inChicago, Aug: 3.8 inChicago, Sep: 3.0 inChicago, Oct: 3.3 inChicago, Nov: 2.8 inChicago, Dec: 2.4 inPalo Alto, Jan: 3.9 inPalo Alto, Feb: 4.2 inPalo Alto, Mar: 3.2 inPalo Alto, Apr: 1.6 inPalo Alto, May: 0.8 inPalo Alto, Jun: 0.2 inPalo Alto, Jul: 0.0 inPalo Alto, Aug: 0.0 inPalo Alto, Sep: 0.1 inPalo Alto, Oct: 0.9 inPalo Alto, Nov: 2.0 inPalo Alto, Dec: 3.7 in
View monthly precipitation as a table
Monthly precipitation (inches)
CityJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Chicago2.42.12.84.54.44.03.63.83.03.32.82.4
Palo Alto3.94.23.21.60.80.20.00.00.10.92.03.7

Monthly sunny days

Days each month with clear or partly cloudy skies, so compare the same month between cities.

ChicagoPalo Alto
01020JanMarMayJulSepNovChicago, Jan: 10 daysChicago, Feb: 11 daysChicago, Mar: 14 daysChicago, Apr: 13 daysChicago, May: 15 daysChicago, Jun: 16 daysChicago, Jul: 20 daysChicago, Aug: 20 daysChicago, Sep: 20 daysChicago, Oct: 16 daysChicago, Nov: 14 daysChicago, Dec: 11 daysPalo Alto, Jan: 13 daysPalo Alto, Feb: 13 daysPalo Alto, Mar: 15 daysPalo Alto, Apr: 18 daysPalo Alto, May: 20 daysPalo Alto, Jun: 23 daysPalo Alto, Jul: 26 daysPalo Alto, Aug: 25 daysPalo Alto, Sep: 26 daysPalo Alto, Oct: 23 daysPalo Alto, Nov: 18 daysPalo Alto, Dec: 15 days
View monthly sunny days as a table
Monthly sunny days (days)
CityJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Chicago101114131516202020161411
Palo Alto131315182023262526231815

Keep comparing

Nearby cities and popular picks for each side of this matchup. Any two cities can be compared from the home page.

Chicago vs another city

See the full Chicago, IL climate profile

More Illinois cities

Palo Alto vs another city

See the full Palo Alto, CA climate profile

More California cities

About this data

Every figure on this page is a 30 year average computed from daily climate history for 1991-2020, using each city's own coordinates. Wet days count days with measurable precipitation, calibrated against the wet day counts in NOAA's published climate normals. Sunny days count clear plus partly cloudy days, defined as average cloud cover of 63 percent or less and calibrated against NOAA's published sky cover tables. Snowfall figures are model estimates anchored to NOAA station measurements near each city.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, ERA5-Land).