Chicago Weather in April

Chicago, Illinois shifts to spring weather in April. This month usually sees the last frost and snow of the season. April is also Chicago's windiest month.

This page gives detailed information on the typical April temperature, precipitation, sun, humidity, wind and storms for Chicago. The numbers here are historical averages based on temperature, rain and snow measurements gathered at Chicago Midway Airport and other climate data from Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Temperature

60 °F	April average high	16 °C
42 °F	April average low	5 °C

15 days	60 °F max. or more (16 °C)
14 days	40 °F min. or less (4 °C)

The temperature rises nearly every day during April to over 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) in Chicago. The city averages 2 days this month when the thermometer reaches into the 80s °F (over 26 °C). Temperatures above 90 °F (32 °C) are not expected here during April.

The thermometer dips to freezing or below on an average of 4 nights during the month. But April does not normally get as cold as 10 °F (-12 °C).

Precipitation

4.2 in	total precipitation	105 mm
12 days	of rain or snowfall

Half the time, Chicago receives 3.1 to 5.6 inches (78 to 142 mm) of precipitation in April. One in four years has drier weather, while another one in four is wetter.

Snow

1.3 in	total snowfall	3.3 cm
1 day	with new snow

Every few years, Chicago receives no fresh snow in April. The snowiest Aprils see at least 1.8 inches (5 cm) of fresh snowflakes.

Sun

50 %	sunshine
6 days	clear skies

The sun's rays reach the ground in Chicago during 50 percent of daylight hours on average in April, for a total of 201 hours in the month. Typically on 6 days this month the sky is mainly clear, with at most 30 percent cloud cover.

Sunlight in April at Chicago lasts for 13 hours and 22 minutes a day on average. The shortest day of the month is the 1st with 12 hours and 43 minutes of daylight. By the end of the month, the days have lengthened to 14:00 from sunrise to sunset. These durations can vary by a minute or two from year to year.

Humidity

65 %	April average humidity

The relative humidity in Chicago during April usually peaks at 77 percent in the morning then drops to 53 percent by mid afternoon.

Local Time	12 am	3 am	6 am	9 am	12 pm	3 pm	6 pm	9 pm
Humidity %	72	76	77	63	55	53	57	66

Wind

11.9 mph

April wind speed average

19.2 kph

April is the windiest month in Chicago.

Storms

3 days	rainfall of 0.5 inches (13 mm) or more
4 days	with thunderstorms in April

April gets an average number of rainstorms. Thunderstorms meanwhile start arriving more often now.