Elgin has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 84°, a January night drops to 15°, and about 32 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
84°
420th coolest of 2,886 Illinois towns
❄️
January low
15°
505th coldest of 2,886 Illinois towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
38 in
788th driest of 2,886 Illinois towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
32 in
465th snowiest of 2,880 Illinois towns
A normal year
What a year in Elgin feels like
❄️
Winter
33° / 18°
Typical high / low · 11 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
59° / 37°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 26
☀️
Summer
82° / 60°
Typical high / low · 15 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
62° / 41°
Typical high / low · First frost around Oct 18
0°
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
30°
15°
34°
18°
46°
27°
59°
37°
71°
48°
80°
58°
84°
62°
82°
61°
75°
53°
62°
41°
47°
30°
35°
20°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideMayJunJulAugSepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Elgin weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
Snow on ground
30-yr range
January
30°
15°
1.8"
9.5"
10
17
13° – 34°
February
34°
18°
1.8"
8.0"
8
13
14° – 38°
March
46°
27°
2.3"
3.7"
10
4
28° – 52°
April
59°
37°
3.8"
0.8"
13
1
40° – 54°
May
71°
48°
4.8"
0
13
0
53° – 66°
June
80°
58°
4.6"
0
11
0
65° – 74°
July
84°
62°
3.9"
0
9
0
68° – 80°
August
82°
61°
3.9"
0
10
0
65° – 77°
September
75°
53°
3.4"
0
9
0
58° – 69°
October
62°
41°
3.3"
0
11
0
47° – 58°
November
47°
30°
2.5"
1.4"
10
1
31° – 47°
December
35°
20°
2.1"
8.7"
10
9
15° – 38°
Year
59°
39°
38.2"
32.1"
124
44
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Elgin
Elgin gets 38 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 124 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 44 days of the year.
💧
38 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 56% of U.S. towns
❄️
32 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 60% of U.S. towns
⛄
44 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 62% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
4.8"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
9.5"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 174 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 26 and the first one by October 18. That leaves about 174 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 56% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 26
🍂 Oct 18
174 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
139
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
11
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
15
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Elgin
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Elgin, 89% of that work is heating and 11% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
6,592 heating degree daysMore heating than 67% of U.S. towns
❄️
807 cooling degree daysLess cooling than 53% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Elgin
Elgin and its neighbors
Elgin borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 1.2°. Pingree Grove has the coldest January nights (14°) and South Elgin the hottest July afternoons (84°). Elgin’s January low is 15° and its July high 84°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.2°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Elgin averaged 1.2° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in December (+2.5°). The shift is smaller than in 51% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+2.1°now 25°, was 23°
🌷 Spring+1.2°now 48°, was 47°
☀️ Summer+0.7°now 71°, was 70°
🍂 Fall+0.8°now 51°, was 51°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Elgin’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+0.2°
+2.5°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. February swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 14° to 38°. June is the most reliable, staying within 9°.
0°
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Elgin’s climate
What is the coldest month in Elgin?
January, with a typical high of 30° and a low of 15°.
What is the hottest month in Elgin?
July, with a typical high of 84° and a low of 62°. About 15 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Elgin get?
About 32 inches in a normal winter, most of it in January.
When is the first frost in Elgin?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by October 18, and the last spring frost by April 26.
What is the rainiest month in Elgin?
May, with 4.8 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 38 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Elgin itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Elgin, IL (3 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.