Wheeling, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wheeling's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 32.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.4°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 820 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChicago Palwaukee Airport
- Station IDUSW00004838
- Location42.12°N 87.90°W
- Elevation636 ft (194 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population38,329
On October 14, the normal high in Wheeling is 63°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wheeling.
- Jan 32° 18°
- Feb 36° 21°
- Mar 47° 30°
- Apr 58° 39°
- May 70° 50°
- Jun 80° 60°
- Jul 84° 66°
- Aug 82° 65°
- Sep 75° 56°
- Oct 63° 45°
- Nov 49° 33°
- Dec 37° 24°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Wheeling each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.97 in), the least in February (1.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 18°F | 25.1°F | 1.33 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 21°F | 28.5°F | 1.28 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 30°F | 38.4°F | 1.84 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 39°F | 48.7°F | 3.31 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 50°F | 59.6°F | 3.76 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 60°F | 69.8°F | 3.97 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 66°F | 74.9°F | 3.15 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 65°F | 73.4°F | 3.70 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 56°F | 65.8°F | 3.04 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 45°F | 53.5°F | 3.11 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 33°F | 40.9°F | 2.15 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 24°F | 30.4°F | 1.64 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 42°F | 50.8°F | 32.28 | 112 | 17 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −3.8°C | 34 mm |
| February | 2°C | −6°C | −1.9°C | 33 mm |
| March | 8°C | −1°C | 3.6°C | 47 mm |
| April | 15°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 84 mm |
| May | 21°C | 10°C | 15.3°C | 96 mm |
| June | 26°C | 16°C | 21.0°C | 101 mm |
| July | 29°C | 19°C | 23.8°C | 80 mm |
| August | 28°C | 18°C | 23.0°C | 94 mm |
| September | 24°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 77 mm |
| October | 17°C | 7°C | 11.9°C | 79 mm |
| November | 9°C | 1°C | 4.9°C | 55 mm |
| December | 3°C | −4°C | −0.9°C | 42 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Chicago Botanic Garden (6 miles away), gets 34 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004838; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Wheeling?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (9).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004838.
When is the last frost in Wheeling?
In Wheeling, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 26 in half of years and before October 13 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 191 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 190 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before November 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wheeling in zone 6a in ZIP code 60090. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wheeling's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Illinois · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00004838; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Wheeling?
In a normal year in Wheeling, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 104°F, on July 6, 2012; the lowest is −21°F, on January 30, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 46.89 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00004838; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00004838. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wheeling?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wheeling, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and January the cloudiest (53%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 53% | 1.4 |
| February | 58% | 2.3 |
| March | 65% | 3.4 |
| April | 67% | 4.5 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 67% | 2.7 |
| November | 62% | 1.8 |
| December | 54% | 1.2 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Wheeling need?
A normal year in Wheeling brings 6,085 heating degree days, 13% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 933 cooling degree days, 3% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,201 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,235 | 0 |
| February | 1,022 | 0 |
| March | 825 | 2 |
| April | 495 | 6 |
| May | 220 | 52 |
| June | 37 | 181 |
| July | 3 | 310 |
| August | 4 | 263 |
| September | 82 | 106 |
| October | 370 | 13 |
| November | 722 | 0 |
| December | 1,071 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,085 | 933 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004838. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Wheeling been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.2°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.8°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.9°F | +2.1°F | 25.18 |
| 2022 | 51.0°F | +0.2°F | 32.75 |
| 2023 | 52.9°F | +2.1°F | 29.31 |
| 2024 | 53.8°F | +3.0°F | 33.24 |
| 2025 | 51.2°F | +0.4°F | 23.80 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00004838. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wheeling's climate compare?
Wheeling is warmer than 49 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 0. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.8°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wheeling is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Wheeling share this climate record?
8 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Arlington Heights, ILalso near: Chicago (8 mi, 51.2°F a year); Barrington (9 mi, 48.0°F a year)75,596 people · 4 mi W
- Mount Prospect, ILalso near: Chicago (5 mi, 51.2°F a year); Chicago Botanic Garden (9 mi, 49.6°F a year)55,460 people · 4 mi SW
- Buffalo Grove, IL43,072 people · 4 mi NW
- Rolling Meadows, IL23,732 people · 7 mi SW
- Prospect Heights, IL15,566 people · 2 mi SW
- Lincolnshire, IL8,008 people · 5 mi N
- Riverwoods, IL3,784 people · 4 mi N
- Bannockburn, IL1,377 people · 5 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Wheeling's climate
What is the coldest month in Wheeling?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Wheeling?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Wheeling's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Chicago Botanic Garden (6 miles away), records 34 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Wheeling?
June, with 3.97 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wheeling in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wheeling in zone 6a in ZIP code 60090. By the same method at Wheeling's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Wheeling?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Chicago Botanic Garden, IL6 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Chicago, IL9 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Mundelein, IL13 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Barrington, IL13 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made