Cook County, IL Climate

Cook, IL County has a humid continental climate with average temperatures ranging from 24°F in the winter to 79°F in the summer. The area experiences hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year with an average of 36 inches annually. July and August are typically the wettest months while December and January are usually the driest. Cook, IL County also experiences frequent thunderstorms during the summer months and Lake Michigan moderates temperatures in some areas close to its shoreline.

Cook County, Illinois gets 38 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Cook County averages 34 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 189 sunny days per year in Cook County. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Cook County gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 124 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.

Weather Highlights

Summer High: the July high is around 84 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 18
Rain: averages 38 inches of rain a year
Snow: averages 34 inches of snow a year

Bestplaces Comfort Index

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for Cook County is 6.9 (10=best), which means it is less comfortable than most places in Illinois.

9 Summer - 4.6 Winter

June, September and August are the most pleasant months in Cook County, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

Climate	Cook, Illinois	United States
	Unlock	38.1 in.
	34.0 in.	Unlock
	Unlock	106.2 days
	189 days	Unlock
	83.9°	85.8°
	Unlock	21.7°
	6.9	Unlock
	Unlock	4.3
	659 ft.	Unlock

Climate

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Many people confuse weather and climate but they are different. Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere is over long periods of time.

Weather is how the atmosphere is behaving and its effects upon life and human activities. Weather can change from minute-to-minute. Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure.

Climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a place. Climate can mean the average weather for a particular region and time period taken over 30 years. Climate is the average of weather over time.

July is the hottest month for Cook County with an average high temperature of 83.9°, which ranks it as cooler than most places in Illinois. In Cook County, there are 4 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for Cook County are June, September and August.

In Cook County, there are 13.7 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is cooler than most places in Illinois.

January has the coldest nighttime temperatures for Cook County with an average of 17.8°. This is about average compared to other places in Illinois.

In Cook County, there are 113.3 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is warmer than most places in Illinois.

In Cook County, there are 5.4 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is about average compared to other places in Illinois.

The humidity is usually comfortable in Cook County but some summer months can be sticky or muggy. July is the most humid month, though humidity is low for most of the year. The most humid months are July, August and June.

August is the wettest month in Cook County with 4.3 inches of rain, and the driest month is February with 1.8 inches. The wettest season is Autumn with 32% of yearly precipitation and 16% occurs in Spring, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 38.1 inches in Cook County means that it is drier than most places in Illinois.

May is the rainiest month in Cook County with 11.6 days of rain, and February is the driest month with only 8.3 rainy days. There are 123.6 rainy days annually in Cook County, which is one of the rainiest places in Illinois. The rainiest season is Summer when it rains 27% of the time and the driest is Spring with only a 24% chance of a rainy day.

An annual snowfall of 34.0 inches in Cook County means that it is snowier than most places in Illinois. January is the snowiest month in Cook County with 10.8 inches of snow, and 6 months of the year have significant snowfall.

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