Will it be a white Christmas in Chicago?
Chicago, Illinois · checked 2:47 pm CDT, Mon Oct 19
Christmas 2026
Forecasts reach about 7 days ahead, so nobody can say yet whether Chicago will see snow on Christmas 2026. From December 18, 2026 this page shows the National Weather Service forecast for Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day.
Past Christmas Days in Chicago
At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, at least 1 inch of snow was on the ground on December 25 in 12 of the 33 years from 1991 to 2025 with a snow-depth reading. The most recent was 2022; the deepest was 12 inches in 2000.
Snow fell on Christmas Day itself — any amount, even a trace — in 14 of the 35 years with a snowfall reading; 10 of them had 0.1 inch or more.
NOAA's 1991–2020 normals give Chicago a 34% chance of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground around December 25 — the figure behind NOAA's white Christmas map.
These are past Christmases, not a forecast for this year.
Every December 25 from 1991 to 2025
| Year | Snow on the ground | Snow that fell | White by NOAA's measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2024 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2023 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2022 | 1 inch | none | Yes |
| 2021 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2020 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2019 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2018 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2017 | 2 inches | 0.1 in | Yes |
| 2016 | 2 inches | none | Yes |
| 2015 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2014 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2013 | trace | 1.2 in | No |
| 2012 | 0 inches | 0.1 in | No |
| 2011 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2010 | 5 inches | 0.9 in | Yes |
| 2009 | 1 inch | 0.4 in | Yes |
| 2008 | 6 inches | none | Yes |
| 2007 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 2006 | 0 inches | trace | No |
| 2005 | 0 inches | trace | No |
| 2004 | 0 inches | 0.3 in | No |
| 2003 | 1 inch | none | Yes |
| 2002 | 2 inches | 2.0 in | Yes |
| 2001 | no reading | 0.2 in | unknown |
| 2000 | 12 inches | none | Yes |
| 1999 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 1998 | no reading | none | unknown |
| 1997 | 1 inch | none | Yes |
| 1996 | 1 inch | trace | Yes |
| 1995 | trace | 0.2 in | No |
| 1994 | 0 inches | none | No |
| 1993 | 1 inch | 0.5 in | Yes |
| 1992 | trace | trace | No |
| 1991 | trace | none | No |
Snow depth is measured once a day in whole inches; a trace is less than half an inch. "No reading" means the station sent none for that day.
Where these numbers come from
Past Christmas Days: snow depth and snowfall on December 25, 1991 to 2025, at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (GHCN-Daily station USW00094846, 28 km from the city centre), read through the Regional Climate Centers' ACIS service. Chance: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, daily normal DLY-SNWD-PCTALL-GE001WI for December 25, which NCEI defines as the probability in a 29-day window centred on the date; the same normals are behind NOAA's white Christmas map. Forecast: the National Weather Service API, from December 18. All US government data, public domain.
No bookmaker odds. This site does not predict snow; it repeats the official forecast and the record.
Will it snow in Chicago? This week's forecast and first snow dates
Questions
Will it be a white Christmas in Chicago in 2026?
Forecasts reach about 7 days ahead, so nobody can say yet whether Chicago will see snow on Christmas 2026. From December 18, 2026 this page shows the National Weather Service forecast for Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day.
What are the chances of a white Christmas in Chicago?
NOAA's 1991–2020 normals give Chicago a 34% chance of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground around December 25 — the figure behind NOAA's white Christmas map. It is the share of days with 1 inch or more on the ground in a 29-day window centred on December 25, so it describes late December, not the day alone.
When was the last white Christmas in Chicago?
At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, at least 1 inch of snow was on the ground on December 25 in 12 of the 33 years from 1991 to 2025 with a snow-depth reading. The most recent was 2022; the deepest was 12 inches in 2000.
Would Chicago count as white by the UK rule?
At this one station, snow was seen falling on 14 of the 35 Christmas Days with a snowfall reading from 1991 to 2025 — the Met Office's test. The UK rule counts a single snowflake anywhere in the country, not at one station.
White Christmas in other US cities
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