Chicago sees normal snowfall in January, with slightly cooler temps
Despite bouts of bitter cold and a healthy amount of snow, January was an “exactly normal,” albeit slightly colder, month for Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service’s monthly roundup of records from O'Hare Airport shows January's average temperature of 21.9 degrees was just 3.3 degrees below the historic average for the month.
The low temperatures averaged 14.9 degrees, 3.9 degrees below normal, and the average high temperature was 28.9 degrees, which is 2.7 degrees below normal.
January 2026 is officially in the books. Here's a breakdown of the month across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana: https://t.co/owuBtJWRuH pic.twitter.com/7KnBacjcLn
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) February 1, 2026
Chicago had at least three days in which temperatures dipped below minus 30, and in some cases minus 40 with wind chills — but only the true temperature, or the temperature unaffected by the wind, is counted.
The city recorded 11.3 inches of snow at O'Hare over the month, which matches the average for January dating back more than 100 years. However, the city has seen 10.3 inches more snow than normal since the start of the season — which resets each July 1 — and 1.9 inches more than normal since Dec. 1.
Though the month didn’t reach the extremes to put it in the top 10 warmest or coldest months, the high of 60 on Jan. 9 tied for the warmest temperature recorded on that day though not the warmest January day on record, which was 67 degrees in 1950.