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Chicago weather: New Year's Day ushers in weeks of freezing temps

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Published  January 1, 2025 5:58am CST
Weather Forecast
FOX 32 Chicago

Chicago weather: New Year's Day forecast

FOX 32's Mike Caplan breaks down today's weather outlook.

The Brief

    • Chicago is entering a prolonged cold spell, with temperatures struggling to rise above freezing for the next three weeks. 
    • Today brings mostly cloudy skies, flurries, and highs near 30 degrees, while tomorrow may see light snow, especially in southern areas. 
    • A stronger storm system could bring snow on Monday, though current models suggest it will not be a major event for the region.

CHICAGO - Temperatures above freezing may be hard to come by for most of the next three weeks across Chicago. Today’s high has already happened around midnight. 

The rest of the day will feature mostly cloudy skies and a few flurries. Temps remain steady around 30 degrees with a west wind adding to the chill of the day. Tonight will be partly cloudy and colder with lows not far from 20.

Tomorrow might touch the freezing mark with some early sunshine yielding to a cloudier afternoon.  That will be due to a snowmaker which might bring an inch or so to our southern counties. One computer model is notably more aggressive with snowfall over more of our viewing area so this bears watching. Prime time will be very late afternoon and at night regardless. 

Friday will be even colder despite mostly sunny skies. Highs will be stuck in the mid 20s. Get used to it. 

Saturday will be mostly sunny and a few degrees colder. Sunday will have increasing cloud cover as a stronger storm system moves into the Midwest. Many uncertainties remain about the track but some snow is likely in our area Monday. Southern portions will be favored. At this time, it does not look like a major storm for our area but we will monitor this one closely for any deviations from the expected track.

December finished with an average temperature of 32 degrees, which is 1.5 degrees warmer than normal.  Snowfall at O’Hare was only 2.4 inches which is well below the 7.6 inches normal. Overall, precipitation was very close to normal, 1.93 inches vs 2.11 inches.

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