Yeah, I know Chicago’s spring is always a crapshoot, usually with an emphasis on the crap. But it seems this year’s has been even crappier than usual.
April and May have been extremely windy and pretty much bone dry. All of the trees and plants have been VERY late. We were out of town the last week, but were told that the temps shot up to the 90s - with the wind continuing unabated. Yesterday it was back down in the 50s. As I type this, we are finally getting some rain, but the temp is 49F with winds expected in the 20 MPH range. it is not predicted to hit 60F until Friday, and not 70F until next Wednesday! Anyone up for a Memorial Day picnic?
I’ve lived in Chicago all my life, so I know Chicago spring generally sucks. My dad, a lifelong Chicagoan, used to say, "Don’t make outdoors plans until June, and even then you are likely to be disappointed."
I just post this to allow others in Chicago or elsewhere to commiserate - or for folk in more clement climes to mock us.
I’m happy with the cooler temps. Nicor charges me less to heat the place than ComEd does to cool it and it’s nice to have some windows open when it’s in the upper 60s.
I have a friend in Arkansas where it’s always something. Storms, tornadoes, 4" hail storms, whatever. Makes me appreciate unseasonably cool weather.
You also got to miss the Dust Bowl style sandstorm that week, too.
I’m another for enjoying the cooler temperatures. F anything 80 or above.
It’s been a Midwestern spring, that is, variable. I haven’t found it particularly “lousy” (except for the 90 degree day and the duststorm) and have been happy to miss the REALLY BAD weather around, say, St. Louis or other places “enjoying” multiple tornadoes, hailstorms, flooding, etc.
Well, from the weather I’ve been hearing about, our weather has been GOOD compared to the states that have been deluged with super cells and tornadoes. I’m not going to complain.
Huh. I’m in Chicago and this is one of the better springs I remember. Hell, didn’t it get record hot just a week or so ago? This week is crummy, but more what I associate with a Chicago spring, so completely normal with some unexpected summer days there. I give it a 7.5/10. There has only been one or two days shitty enough I couldn’t walk my dog. Really just one I could think of. Today’s looking grim, though.
Yeah - you got that right. I’ve often said that the problem w/ Chicago weather is that we don’t get long stretches of seasonably appropriate weather. Rather than a nice stretch of pleasant spring days in Apr-May, we might get some really nice weather in March - or even February. Or a blast of heat in April/May, followed by pleasant days in the 70s in July.
I guess what I consider “lousy” is the absence of any days I consider really nice. TBH there have been 1 - maybe 2 - days that I commented, “Now THIS is a glorious spring day. We have to remember it when we say we never get nice weather!” But 1-2 glorious days over 2 months is pretty little.
I bike regularly, and the wind has been pretty constant. And we like to sit in out back yard, but have not been inspired to do much of that. Have not had our windows open more than a couple of times.
Just to be clear, the 10 on your scale is a usual crummy Chicago spring?
BTW - last week in France, the weather was glorious. So I shouldn’t complain TOO much!
10 is of all Chicago springs I’ve experienced, around 40 counting for years I’ve been out of Chicago. I don’t particularly think Chicago springs are crummy. I like ‘em, but I like variety. I also like Chicago winters, so there’s that, but lately I’ve been disappointed by their mildness.
ETA: So were you gone when it was like 87 here? And I suspect you may have been a bit lucky with the weather in Paris.
Full disclosure - I tend to have a poor recollection of weather specifics from year to year. I’m often surprised to hear folk say something like, “Last June was really rainy” or “Two winters ago it was really cold.” I simply do not recall that sort of thing.
Mine is from the DC area and her family all pearl-clutched at how she’d survive out here. Since then, they’ve had far worse winters and snowfall than we have.
Well, I do tend to have reference points like was it difficult to walk my dog (already mentioned), am I really waiting to Mother’s Day to plant my garden, when the tulips start flowering, how much shovelling I need to do in the winter, whether I had to run the air conditioner all summer or whether I had a reasonable cooling bill, etc.
I’m in NE MN. And it has turned into a crummy spring. We didn’t have much snow last winter so we had bare ground early, that was wonderful. But then it stayed cold and windy. Last week we had 3 or 4 days of glorious heat. Temps were in the high 80s. We should have known better. It is now 39 degrees - 27 degrees with the windchill and 28 mph winds which will be gusting up to 40 mph. We haven’t had much rain, but I’m guessing June, as usual, will bring us plenty. The silver lining is that I haven’t seen a mosquito yet!
When I lived in St. Louis I had semi-similar feelings. For background: in general StL weather is “Chicago-lite”. Same short-term fluctuations, just not to the same extremes. I used to joke w my friends that whatever the weather is here in StL, rest assured it’s 10 degrees worse in Chicago right now.
What I noticed about myself is that I don’t notice extra nice days until about 6 of them have gone by in a row, then on the 7th day I finally wake up and take notice. Which means that if nice days are alternating 50/50 with crappy days, in hindsight I’ll believe the entire month has been crappy.
I’m also somebody who always first thought of getting a new winter coat in March and a new swimsuit in September. Seems my awareness of seasons runs about 3 months behind meteorological reality and 6 months behind retail reality. Oops.
Perhaps the OP can see some of my unhelpful tendencies in themselves?
Oh yeah … For gloating’s sake, the last 3 months have been just spectacular in Miami. May thusfar has been more of the same.
The last time I was in Chicago (for a several-day board review course) it was mid-May, and unrelentingly cloudy, windy and cold with temps that never got above the low 50s except for one decent day when I went to Wrigley to see the Cubs play.
Kentucky is expecting another bout of severe storms today, so I may blow away before I can finish this po
Woke up feeling VERY clammy today (NE Ohio). The lake moderates the highs and lows, brings lake effect clouds, knew all that before I moved here. Won’t really get out of the high 50’s/low 60’s until the weekend tho. Up to this week has seemed pretty normal.
My only worry is that we’ll transition from highs in the 60’s to highs in the 80’s come June, with very few of those idyllic days in the sweet spot 70’s. Since I like to do a lot of road trips that would be less than ideal.
Still, compared to the sweltering Florida that I left behind in my rear view (highs mid 90’s this week), no complaints in the end.
Chicago winter isn’t about being overly snowy, but being cold, windy, and gray. It also doesn’t relent, leading into the lousy spring. The most frustrating is when you’re into April and May and are begging for it to just end already, and you get forecasts like “Partly cloudy and calm with highs in the upper 60s inland, upper 50s with an east wind and occasional fog near the lake.” While “cooler near the lake” is great in July and August, on the hottest days there’s a strong wind out of the southwest blowing towards the lake so you get no benefit. The coldest and most damp “lake effect” happens in the spring when you least want it. Warmer near the lake is pretty rare in winter too because of the prevailing winds. There’s very little winning.
