How extreme does East Chicago's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days East Chicago has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Park Forest Water station 25 km away. Updated through June 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days East Chicago has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

103°F Aug 2, 1988

That is about 21°F hotter than a normal August afternoon in East Chicago (typical high near 82°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 103°F Aug 2, 1988

2 102°F Jun 26, 1988

3 102°F Jul 16, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-27°F Jan 20, 1985

About 42°F colder than a normal January night in East Chicago (typical low near 15°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -27°F Jan 20, 1985

2 -25°F Jan 21, 1985

3 -23°F Jan 31, 2019

🌧️ Most rain in one day

6.55 in Jul 18, 1996

More rain in a single day than East Chicago usually gets in the whole month of July (typical July total about 4.7 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 6.55 in Jul 18, 1996

2 6.43 in May 22, 1982

3 4.70 in Sep 28, 2019

⛄ Most snow in one day

19.0 in Feb 2, 2011

Close to a whole typical February's snow in one day (East Chicago averages about 8 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 19.0 in Feb 2, 2011

2 14.5 in Feb 2, 2015

3 12.5 in Jan 18, 1982

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

East Chicago's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — August's 103°F is about 21°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, East Chicago's warmest days reach the mid-80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the mid-10s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 103°F and as low as −27°F. A single day has delivered over 7 inches of rain or close to 19 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Park Forest Water (NOAA GHCN station USC00116616), about 25 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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