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Typical May weather

Chicago

Illinois · May

Patios open the instant the sun does; carry a shell.

71° days
51° nights

about 8 rainy days · 14½ hours of daylight

What to pack

What May feels like

Patios fill on the first genuinely warm evening and never really empty again. May carries the year's most frequent rain, usually in short bursts between bright stretches, and Memorial Day weekend gives the lakefront path its first properly crowded Saturday.

Rain arrives about 8 days of the month, so keep one flexible day in your plans.

The numbers

Typical high71°
Typical low51°
Days with real rain8
Total rain4.5 in
Humiditydry air
Sunrise / sunset (mid-month)5:29 am / 8:03 pm

How May compares

See the whole year in Chicago ›