How extreme does Elgin's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Elgin 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 Elgin Water station 3 km away. Updated through May 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 Elgin has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

102°F Jul 7, 2012

That is about 18°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Elgin (typical high near 84°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 102°F Jul 7, 2012

2 102°F Jul 8, 2012

3 101°F Jun 26, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-27°F Jan 20, 1985

About 41°F colder than a normal January night in Elgin (typical low near 14°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -27°F Jan 20, 1985

2 -25°F Jan 30, 2019

3 -25°F Jan 31, 2019

🌧️ Most rain in one day

6.47 in Jul 24, 2010

More rain in a single day than Elgin usually gets in the whole month of July (typical July total about 4.0 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 6.47 in Jul 24, 2010

2 4.93 in Aug 22, 2002

3 4.56 in Jun 9, 1979

⛄ Most snow in one day

15.0 in Jan 14, 1979

Close to a whole typical January's snow in one day (Elgin averages about 10 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 15.0 in Jan 14, 1979

2 12.0 in Apr 3, 1975

3 12.0 in Jan 21, 2006

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

Elgin's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 102°F is about 18°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, Elgin'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 102°F and as low as −27°F. A single day has delivered over 6 inches of rain or close to 15 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 Aurora Water (NOAA GHCN station USC00110338), about 29 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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