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Coldest Since
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Illinois · THREADEX · 1872–2026

Chicago, IL

41.960°N, 87.932°W · station ORDthr · 155 years of record
65°F
forecast low · Sep 8

7-Day Forecast

NWS NDFD forecast low temperature for Chicago.
76°WED9/275°THU9/374°FRI9/472°SAT9/571°SUN9/667°MON9/765°TUE9/8

This Day in History

Every year's low on each of the next 7 forecast dates at Chicago — toggle a day below. The forecast line shows where it lands; the ringed bar is the coldest on record.

Ranks

#108 / 154
coldest Sep 8 in 154 yrs of record

Coldest Sep 8 ever

43°F
set in 1986

Mildest Sep 8 ever

76°F
set in 1922
Forecast low 65°F — 108th coldest Sep 8 of 154 years · record 43°F (1986) · coldest since 2025.
1872: 70°F1873: 55°F1874: 70°F1875: 68°F1876: 63°F1877: 55°F1878: 71°F1879: 47°F1880: 58°F1881: 66°F1882: 67°F1883: 46°F1884: 68°F1885: 58°F1886: 67°F1887: 56°F1888: 60°F1889: 60°F1890: 55°F1891: 54°F1892: 58°F1893: 62°F1894: 65°F1895: 59°F1896: 54°F1897: 74°F1898: 52°F1899: 62°F1900: 65°F1901: 60°F1902: 51°F1903: 71°F1904: 62°F1905: 64°F1906: 70°F1907: 60°F1908: 60°F1909: 64°F1910: 68°F1911: 63°F1912: 73°F1913: 67°F1914: 56°F1915: 68°F1916: 67°F1917: 57°F1918: 61°F1919: 74°F1920: 61°F1921: 69°F1922: 76°F1923: 55°F1924: 55°F1925: 69°F1926: 64°F1927: 70°F1928: 56°F1929: 65°F1930: 64°F1931: 66°F1932: 54°F1933: 72°F1934: 59°F1935: 58°F1936: 70°F1937: 63°F1938: 63°F1939: 64°F1940: 69°F1941: 70°F1942: 67°F1943: 51°F1944: 48°F1945: 69°F1946: 64°F1947: 70°F1948: 63°F1949: 48°F1950: 63°F1951: 47°F1952: 56°F1953: 51°F1954: 55°F1955: 55°F1956: 47°F1957: 54°F1958: 54°F1959: 71°F1960: 74°F1961: 68°F1962: 58°F1963: 66°F1964: 68°F1965: 62°F1966: 55°F1967: 60°F1968: 49°F1969: 53°F1970: 63°F1971: 66°F1972: 64°F1973: 62°F1974: 55°F1975: 53°F1976: 64°F1977: 58°F1978: 68°F1979: 52°F1980: 62°F1981: 50°F1982: 47°F1983: 52°F1984: 62°F1985: 67°F1986: 43°F1987: 64°F1988: 44°F1989: 66°F1990: 65°F1991: 67°F1992: 63°F1993: 55°F1994: 60°F1995: 55°F1996: 66°F1997: 63°F1998: 55°F1999: 59°F2000: 59°F2001: 63°F2002: 60°F2003: 59°F2004: 57°F2005: 64°F2006: 60°F2007: 64°F2008: 55°F2009: 60°F2010: 51°F2011: 57°F2012: 59°F2013: 71°F2014: 55°F2015: 68°F2016: 74°F2017: 58°F2018: 63°F2019: 62°F2020: 62°F2021: 59°F2022: 62°F2023: 58°F2024: 48°F2025: 50°F65° forecast404550556065707580188018901900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
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The Numbers

Forecast low · Sep 865°F
Coldest this date since2025
This-date record43°F
This-date rank#108 of 154
Coldest at any time since2026
All-time record-27°F (1985)
Odds to tie/break0.0% (daily)
Period of record1872–2026

Record Book

The hottest and coldest ever recorded at Chicago in each calendar month, and for the whole 1872–2026 record — with the year each was set.
MonthRecord HighRecord Low
Jan67°FJan 25, 1950-27°FJan 20, 1985
Feb75°FFeb 27, 1976-21°FFeb 9, 1899
Mar88°FMar 29, 1986-12°FMar 4, 1873
Apr91°FApr 30, 19427°FApr 7, 1982
May98°FMay 31, 193427°FMay 2, 1875
Jun104°FJun 20, 195335°FJun 4, 1945
Jul105°FJul 24, 193445°FJul 7, 1983
Aug102°FAug 5, 191842°FAug 28, 1986
Sep101°FSep 1, 195329°FSep 28, 1942
Oct94°FOct 6, 196314°FOct 25, 1887
Nov81°FNov 1, 1950-2°FNov 29, 1872
Dec71°FDec 3, 1970-25°FDec 24, 1983
All-time105°FJul 24, 1934-27°FJan 20, 1985

2026 Records So Far

Records set or tied at Chicago so far this year — through Aug 30.

Record Highs in 2026

3 broke
plus 1 tied — daily record highs set this year

Record Lows in 2026

0 broke
plus 0 tied — daily record lows set this year

Record Warm Nights & Cold Days

Two more daily records, kept separate from the rankings: the warmest a night has ever stayed (record high minimum) and the coldest a day has ever gotten (record low maximum) — the flip side of the usual record high and low.

Warmest low ever

85°F
record high minimum — the night it never cooled · Jul 29, 1916

Coldest high ever

-11°F
record low maximum — the day it never warmed · Dec 24, 1983
MonthWarmest lowColdest high
Jan56°FJan 23, 1909-11°FJan 18, 1994
Feb54°FFeb 8, 1925-8°FFeb 9, 1899
Mar66°FMar 30, 19988°FMar 3, 1873
Apr69°FApr 26, 191526°FApr 17, 1875
May77°FMay 28, 201237°FMay 2, 1940
Jun81°FJun 28, 191345°FJun 5, 1894
Jul85°FJul 29, 191660°FJul 8, 1883
Aug82°FAug 19, 191658°FAug 30, 1915
Sep78°FSep 6, 188144°FSep 29, 1899
Oct71°FOct 1, 197128°FOct 30, 1917
Nov63°FNov 6, 19247°FNov 24, 1950
Dec58°FDec 2, 1982-11°FDec 24, 1983
All-time85°FJul 29, 1916-11°FDec 24, 1983

Cold Streaks

Current run

0 days
consecutive days with a low ≤ 32°F

Longest ever

99 days
record run, ended Mar 6 1979

So far in 2026

71 days
days with a low ≤ 32°F this year

Climate Normals

Normal low & low by month, from Chicago's own 1991–2020 record. Today's normal low: 59°F · forecast is +6° vs normal.
Jan: 31°FJan: 17°FFeb: 36°FFeb: 20°FMar: 47°FMar: 30°FApr: 59°FApr: 39°FMay: 70°FMay: 49°FJun: 80°FJun: 59°FJul: 84°FJul: 65°FAug: 82°FAug: 64°FSep: 75°FSep: 56°FOct: 62°FOct: 44°FNov: 48°FNov: 33°FDec: 36°FDec: 23°FJFMAMJJASOND

Sun & Location

Sun & Daylight Today

Sunrise5:17 AM
Sunset6:26 PM
Solar noon11:51 AM
Daylight13h 09m · losing 18 min/wk
Local standard time (no DST), level horizon.

Location

41.96°N, 87.93°W

Nearby Stations

Rockford, IL61 mi WMilwaukee, WI68 mi NSouth Bend, IN85 mi EHolland, MI108 mi NEMadison, WI108 mi NWMuskegon, MI120 mi NE

The Last 6 Weeks

Chicago's observed daily low for the last six weeks — a white ring marks any day that broke or tied its daily record for that date.
Chicago, IL — last six weeks of daily low

2026 So Far

Every day this year against Chicago's own record — the record low, the normal, and the full span ever seen. A shareable look at where the year stands.
Chicago, IL — 2026 daily low trace
Download year chart

Every Day Since 1872

Each cell is one day's low at Chicago, coloured by temperature — 155 years of record, so heat waves read as warm streaks and cold snaps as blue.
Chicago, IL daily low heat map 1872–2026

Days Below the Mark

How many days a year hit a given low at Chicago — counted through Sep 8 each year, so you can see whether 2026 is running cold. Pick a threshold:
71 days ≤32°F so far in 2026 — tied for the 110th most in 155 years. Normal for this point: 77. Record: 100 in 1873.

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