Are you thinking about moving to the Chicagoland area and you’re wondering what are the Chicago winters like? Well I’ve got your cover because I’m gonna do a video on what Chicago winters are really like I’m Amy Pearson, I’m a local realtor in the western suburbs as well as serving downtown Chicago. I’ve been working with clients that are looking to move from out of state and they were wondering what are Chicago winters like so I’ve been trying to explain to them what it’s really like Chicago winter so I thought i’d make a video on that topic.
I’ve been getting phone calls, texts emails from people just like you looking to move the area and I’ve been helping them out. If you are thinking to move to the Chicagoland area, I’d love to help you out send me a text, message, send me a call email. I’m here to help you out and I’ve got you covered all things in Chicago and real estate. I do weekly videos on real estate information, community info and all things to eat, sleep, and do in the Chicagoland area. Please subscribe if you like my video!
Winter is coming and we’ve had a few snowflakes dropping in the Chicagoland area and it’s quickly approaching the winter. Chicago versus suburbs winter it’s a little bit different Downtown Chicago on a cold day it’s actually a little bit warmer versus the suburbs because of the Lake Michigan effect. The lake effect actually keeps the downtown a little bit warmer and the suburbs are colder reverse happens in the summer. The downtown Chicago is a little bit cooler because there’s a natural cooling from the lake and the suburbs are warmer interesting information about the lake effect in the Chicago area. The winters can be a little rough if you live in Chicago the side streets take a little bit longer to clear then the suburbs. Their main priorities are the highway and busy streets then they get to these side streets which can take a little bit longer to get to. If you live in the suburbs they focus on the main busy streets to clear with the snow plows and then they’ll get to the side streets. It just takes a little bit longer in Chicago to clear the street because there’s so many streets to cover so your side street may take a little bit longer to get to.
The typical temperature in the winters in Chicago I would say January and February are the toughest months to get through. If you can make it through that, your smooth sailing to live in the Chicago area. December typical average temps high of 37 low at 27. January is the tough month high of 32 low of 22 and February high of 36 and low of 26. That’s the typical temperature range in our coldest months.
Snow, how much snow does it take for the Chicagoland area to shut down? It needs to snow a lot for it to shut down here. I know in the south that there’s a dusting or inch of snow and everything shuts down. Here it has to be a significant amount of snow to shut down. We’ve got plenty of salt trucks and snow plows everything usually gets cleared in time. One to two inches of snow is not a big deal. Maybe schools might have a delayed start if there’s a lot of snow. It just takes people a little bit longer to get to places but things really do not shut down. It’s got to be like six to eight inches for things to shut down and there would be snow days for school back in the day but I think technology has changed that and it would be remote learning if we got a lot of snow here.
Your winter must-haves that you need to have living here in the Chicagoland area a heavy winter coat with the hood. A hood is needed because it is so windy you need to have the hood to block out the wind in the snow. Gloves in your pockets of all at all times because you never know and it’s gonna be really cold when you’re out. Always keep a car scraper in your car because when you park somewhere your car could get iced up and you’ll need to have a scrape your windows before you leave. You could be anywhere at a mall or just parking somewhere so you need to have an ice scraper in your car. Another item is a shovel in your trunk is key especially if you live in downtown Chicago. If you park on the streets, your car will get snowed in you’ll need to shovel out after the first snowfall. It is hard to find a shovel in a hardware store in Chicago after the first snow fall so you got to keep that shovel in the trunk if you park on the streets in Chicago.
That’s my tips on Chicago winter you can make it through those two months, you’ll love the area it can be tough I’m not gonna lie but people make the most of Chicago winters and try to find fun things to do to keep them active and happy in those darker colder months. If you’re considering a move to Chicago, I hope didn’t scare you off with my cold weather and snowy weather information. I’ve got your back and moving to Chicago area please keep me in mind send me a text phone message or email if you’re interested in seeing more info on Chicagoland.