Chicago was warmer than average during the 2023-24 season, which meant snow was scarce. Only 22.2 inches of snow fell at O’Hare International Airport, which is the city’s official recording site.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center expects a La Niña weather pattern to affect winter conditions in most of the country. For Chicago and the rest of Illinois, that could may mean a colder and wetter winter.

Chicago’s 10 largest snowfalls since 1886 — and how the Tribune covered them

“There’s a lot of variability between La Niña years,” cautioned Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist. “Depending on what other (weather patterns) are operating and what tends to play a larger role during the winter, we could still see a lot of different variations on what La Niña actually brings.”

The most snow Chicago has ever received in one season was 89.7 inches during 1978-79. The least — 9.8 inches — occurred in 1920-21.

Here’s a look back at how our current snowfall compares with previous seasons.

Data is updated through May 4, 2025.

Sources: National Weather Service Chicago; Tribune archives and reporting

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Early in the morning, Google’s air quality map showed that Chicago had the worst air in the country. Apple’s weather app, too, showed that the Air Quality Index had climbed into the 400s, a reading so hazardous that people are encouraged to stay indoors. (The Air Quality Index, which ranges from 0 to 500, is a measure of the density of five pollutants in the air: ground-level ozone, particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.)

To put that in perspective, that’s as high as the levels reached in 2023 when smoke from wildfires in Canada blanketed much of the East Coast and turned the sky in New York City orange.

At those levels, people are advised to stay indoors, and Madeline Blair, 24, did just that. She checked her Apple weather app when she woke up and, seeing unhealthy air quality levels, skipped her morning walk. Blair instead headed down into her basement to retrieve her air filter.

“I live on the northwest side, and my area on the map was dark purple on the Apple radar, so I’m like, No thanks, I’m just staying inside,” Blair said. (That color would indicate the air quality is at hazardous levels.)

Savannah Bhojwani, 26, who lives in Old Town, was also alarmed by the air quality readings. She saw them in the 200s at 10 a.m. on her Apple Weather app before watching them climb into the 400s later on.

She said she had thought the readings might be inaccurate, but cloudy, gray weather in the morning made it difficult to tell whether the air was polluted. She closed her windows and texted screen shots of the dangerous air quality readings to her friends. One blamed a garage fire, and another thought there might be a gas leak. Nothing pointed to the type of air quality levels that were being reported, and they couldn’t find any information on the local news or from public health officials.

Similar conversations unfolded across social media, where people spent much of the day speculating about potential causes. An explosion in Indiana, as one person on Reddit suggested? Really — really — bad pollen?

The readings arrived just as the American Lung Association issued its annual State of the Air report, which suggests that even days with good air quality in Chicago may be hard on the lungs. It ranked the Chicago area 15th worst in the nation for ozone pollution, with Los Angeles at No. 1.

Not everyone was reporting the dangerous air quality levels, though. The Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow is a go-to source for air quality data and uses high-quality sensors that are closely monitored. On Wednesday, it showed good air quality in Chicago.

PurpleAir is also widely popular. Its sensors are less precise — but there are many more of them. Its map often shows air quality levels that are poorer than those on AirNow, but on Wednesday it, too, mostly reported good levels.

The Chicago Department of Public Health confirmed that the air quality index in Chicago was at safe levels Wednesday, though it declined to speculate on what might have caused the glitch in some apps. A spokesperson said that when the air quality in the city reaches unhealthy levels, the city works to assist residents and particularly vulnerable populations.

Both Apple and Google use the same source for their data: BreezoMeter, a startup acquired by Google in 2022. The company says it uses many of the same sensors as AirNow and PurpleAir but also incorporates additional data sources in determining the Air Quality Index. Late Wednesday, Abigail Jaffe, a spokesperson for Google, said the mistakenly high readings were the fault of “a third-party monitoring station inaccurately reporting high measurements.”

By around 5 p.m. local time, both Google’s and Apple’s maps finally showed good air quality in Chicago.

Until then, with the Apple weather app was still showing unhealthy air but the sun finally coming out, Bhojwani decided it had all been a fluke. She has previously lived in Los Angeles — where, she said, she learned a dusty color around the sun was an indication that the air was polluted. She didn’t see that in Chicago. “This is clearly inaccurate, I thought,” she said.

Blair came to the same conclusion. “Now it’s beautiful outside — I’m about to go get coffee with a friend before going to a poetry reading,” she said just before 4 p.m. local time. “So I guess you could say I’m resuming normal activities.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Officials said a cold front was expected to bring widespread thunderstorms Tuesday in portions of north central and northeast Illinois, and northwest Indiana.

The storm system was expected to blow into the area Tuesday evening into the night hours, officials said.

The system has the potential to generate gusty winds, especially across western Illinois.

Current afternoon conditions at O’Hare International Airport is mostly cloudy at 66 degrees. Farther south at Midway Airport conditions are the same at 68 degrees.

There is a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms later Tuesday.

The worst of the Easter rain was expected to dry by about 3:30 p.m., National Weather Service meteorologist Ricky Castro said. Showers were expected around 8 p.m. with stormy conditions including wind gusts and possible lightning likely around midnight.

The series finale between the Cubs and Diamondbacks was delayed at least twice Sunday afternoon because of the weather. Shortly after a delayed 2 p.m. start, the game stopped again due to lightning in the area, the Cubs posted on social media.

Inland in the metro area, temperatures “could make a run toward 60 degrees,” Castro said.

But there won’t be much of a warmup for fans at Wrigley Field or anywhere on the lakefront, he said, as temperatures there hovered in the 40s on Sunday and were expected to stay cool.

Remnants of the storm system were expected to bring more wind gusts Monday, NWS meteorologist David King said. Midweek, temperatures could reach 70 degrees with intermittent showers, he said.

On Easter Sunday, communities in Texas and Oklahoma were beginning to assess the damage wreaked by tornadoes. There were 17 reported events Saturday, according to Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Five were confirmed in south-central Oklahoma, including one that inflicted substantial damage on a small town that was still recovering from a March tornado.

The storm also brought heavy rain to a broad swath of north-central Texas across central-eastern Oklahoma, much of which saw 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) accumulate Saturday into Sunday.

Police in Moore, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, received dozens of reports of “high-water incidents” over the weekend, including two cars stranded in flood waters Saturday evening. One car was swept away under a bridge, and police said they were able to rescue some people, but a woman and 12-year-old boy were found dead.

“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,” Moore police said in a statement Sunday. Moore has about 63,000 residents.

Oravec said the system wasn’t moving much over Texas and Oklahoma Saturday, leaving the area stuck under a very active thunderstorm pattern that produced large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes.

Bill Macon, emergency management director in Oklahoma’s Marshall County, said their early assessments show a tornado “skipped and jumped around” over a path of 6 to 7 miles (about 10 to 11 kilometers) in the rural area that left at least 20 homes damaged, with some destroyed completely.

Macon said people were mostly home when the late night tornado came through, downing “huge” trees and dozens of electric poles and power lines, but there had not been reports of injuries or fatalities.

“We take those things pretty serious down here in Oklahoma,” Macon said of the National Weather Service’s warnings.

One Oklahoma town that was still rebuilding from an early March tornado was hit again late Saturday. The north side of Ada, a town home to about 16,000 people, sustained damage that the weather service said indicated at least an EF1 tornado — with wind speeds between 86 and 110 mph (138 to 177 kph) — based on a preliminary survey. Social media posts showed roofs ripped off businesses in town, storefront windows blown in and billboards knocked sideways.

In a video posted to Facebook, Jason Keck, Ada director of emergency management, said the tornado seemed to track across the north side of town to a shopping center, “leaving a lot of damage to buildings, power lines and trees.”

One clothing store was “severely damaged,” according to The Ada News, but “bracketed on both sides by intact structures.”

At least two tornadoes crossed west Parker County, Texas, on Saturday, the county’s emergency services said on Facebook. Emergency crews were dispatched to several houses with roofs torn off and homes exposed, photos showed. One detached roof ended up smashed across a driveway.

The whole storm system is moving northeast into Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and southeastern Iowa, Oravec said. While it’s moving faster, he said, the active system still carries the threat of large hail, high winds and tornadoes to the region.

While heavy rain was subsiding in Texas and Oklahoma by late Sunday afternoon, additional heavy rain is expected across parts of the Plains this week, Oravec said. With streams already swollen and the ground saturated, that leaves the area at risk of additional flooding.

Officials said there is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 a.m. in portions of north-central and northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.

The storm may include large hail up to 2 inches in diameter, as well as damaging winds up to 60 mph. There is a chance of tornadoes in the coverage area, officials said.

After 5 p.m. Friday, there is a slight chance of more storms. Highs are forecast in the low 80s.

Current afternoon conditions at O’Hare International Airport are overcast at 76 degrees. At Midway Airport farther south, conditions are similar.

Tuesday’s temperatures are expected to hover in the high 30s, before dropping to the low 30s in the night hours, officials said.

Chicago weather: How our 2024-25 seasonal snowfall compares with previous years

Then there is a 90% chance of snow mixed with rain expected Wednesday with temperatures reaching the low 40s, officials said.

The cold weather is forecast to remain Thursday when there is a slight chance of showers. Temperatures are expected in the mid-40s Friday, ultimately reaching the low 50s on Saturday, officials said.

The temperature at first-pitch of last night’s Cubs game was 34 degrees, tying it for the fourth-coldest in Wrigley Field history. The Cubs are scheduled to play again tonight at 6:40 p.m.

Current afternoon conditions at O’Hare International Airport are a few clouds at 37 degrees. At Midway Airport farther south conditions are the same at 38 degrees.

While Sunday’s weather includes mostly calm skies and mild temperatures, snowfall is expected to hit Monday morning sometime around 7 or 8 a.m., said Zachary Yack, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. That snowfall is supposed to last about three to four hours, with the potential for on-and-off scattered snow showers in the afternoon.

Snowfall accumulation is not expected to be significant for Monday, potentially up to half an inch. The snowfall is also expected to mostly affect grassy surfaces and not cause too much of a hindrance for people on their morning commute Monday, Yack said. Highs for Monday and Tuesday are going to be in the 40s.

Temperatures are supposed to rise in the middle of the week, with the potential for more rain and possibly even snow late Tuesday night through Thursday.

Many of the impacted areas already are heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that spawned deadly tornadoes. New tornado warnings were issued overnight in Alabama and Mississippi, along with flash flood warnings for several counties in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Saturday included more of the torrential rain and flash flooding that has pounded the central U.S., rapidly swelling waterways and prompting emergencies from Texas to Ohio. The 16 reported deaths since the start of the storms included 10 in Tennessee alone.

The National Weather Service said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach what the agency calls “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

A 57-year-old man died Friday evening after getting out of a car that washed off a road in West Plains, Missouri. Flooding killed two people in Kentucky including a 9-year-old boy swept away that same day on his way to school and a 74-year-old whose body was found Saturday inside a fully submerged vehicle in Nelson County, authorities said.

Also Saturday, a 5-year-old died at a home in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a weather-related incident, according to police. No details were immediately provided.

Tornadoes earlier in the week destroyed entire neighborhoods and were responsible for at least seven of the deaths.

There were 521 flights cancelled and more than 6,400 flights delayed within the U.S. or coming into or leaving the country on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which reported 74 cancellations and 478 delays of U.S. flights early Sunday.

Interstate commerce also could be affected. The extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts, twice that of just a decade ago.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday that the Ohio River rose 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days.

“We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.

Flash flood threat looms over many states

Flash flood emergency and tornado warnings continued to be issued Saturday across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, with more heavy rains and damaging winds in the mix. All of eastern Kentucky was under a flood watch through Sunday morning.

Hundreds of Kentucky roads across the state were impassable because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides.

Downtown Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reopened in the morning after floodwaters from the Little River receded, giving a much-needed reprieve, but still more rainfall was on its way, Mayor James R. Knight Jr. said.

“We got a little rain, but most of it went north of us,” Knight said. “Thank goodness on that. Gave us a little break.”

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth, a town of 2,000 people in a bend of the rising Licking River. The warnings were similar to catastrophic flooding nearly 30 years ago when the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

In Arkansas, weather officials pleaded with people to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary due to widespread flooding.

BNSF Railway confirmed that a railroad bridge in Mammoth Spring was washed out by floodwaters, causing the derailment of several cars. No injuries were reported, but there was no immediate estimate for when the bridge would reopen.

Why so much nasty weather?

Since Wednesday, more than a foot of rain (30.5 centimeters) has fallen in parts of Kentucky, and more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) in parts of Arkansas and Missouri, forecasters said Saturday.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

At least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. One, near Blytheville, Arkansas, lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to NWS meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, dozens of people arrived Saturday at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain, clutching blankets, pillows and other necessities.

Among them was George Manns, 77, who said he was in his apartment when he heard a tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier the city was hit by a tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” said Mann, who brought a folding chair, two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and medications: “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed.

Day after day of heavy rains have pounded the central U.S., rapidly swelling waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies in Missouri, Texas and Arkansas. The National Weather Service said 45 river locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

At least seven people were killed as the tornadoes destroyed entire neighborhoods, with more twisters possible in places this weekend. Flooding killed at least two more in Kentucky — 9-year-old boy swept away Friday on his way to school, and a 74-year-old whose body was found Saturday inside a fully submerged vehicle in Nelson County, authorities said.

And interstate commerce is affected — the extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts — twice that of just a decade ago.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday that the Ohio River had risen five feet in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days.

“We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.

Flash flood threat looms over many states

Flash flood emergencies continued to be issued Saturday across Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, with more heavy rains and damaging winds in the mix.

Hundreds of Kentucky roads were impassable Friday because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides, and the number of closures were likely to increase with more rain Saturday, said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Downtown Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reopened early Saturday after floodwaters from the Little River receded, giving a much needed reprieve, but still more rainfall was on its way Saturday and Sunday, Mayor James R. Knight Jr. said.

“We got a little rain but most of it went north of us,” Knight said Saturday. “Thank goodness on that. Gave us a little break.”

Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural Kentucky where water can rush off hillsides into low-lying areas. Less than three years ago, dozens died in flooding in the Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky.

In north central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth, a town of 2,000 people in a bend of the swelling Licking River, as the rising water summoned fears of damaging floods. The warnings were similar to catastrophic flooding nearly 30 years prior when the river reached a record 50 feet high, resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

Over in Arkansas, weather officials pleaded with the public to avoid all travel unless absolutely necessary due to the widespread flooding.

On Saturday, BNSF confirmed that a railroad bridge in Mammoth Spring was washed out by floodwaters that caused the derailment of several cars. No injuries were reported, but BNSF had no immediate estimate when the bridge would reopen.

Why so much nasty weather?

Since Wednesday, more than a foot of rain — or 30.5 centimeters — has now fallen in parts of Kentucky, and more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) has fallen in parts of Arkansas and Missouri, forecasters said Saturday.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

At least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the NWS. One, near Blytheville, Arkansas, lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the town of Selmer were “completely wiped out” by a tornado with winds estimated by the NWS of up to 160 mph (257 kph).

On Saturday, dozens of people in Dyersburg, Tennessee, arrived at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain with blankets, pillows and folding chairs.

George Manns, 77, said he was in his apartment when he heard the tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier, the city was hit by a tornado and caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” Mann said, who brought a folding chair and two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and his medications. “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.