Historical weather data, all-time temperature records, and monthly climate averages for Des Plaines, IL. Explore typical weather conditions by week for trip planning, and see how today compares to the historical record.
April 4th in Des Plaines sits right in that unpredictable shoulder season — the average high is a mild 52°, but 67 years of data show anything is possible. This date has swung from a brutal 13° low in 1975 to a shirt-sleeve 76° high in 2010, a 63-degree range that sums up Midwest spring perfectly. There's a coin-flip chance of rain today, with a 5% shot of snow still lingering.
Des Plaines doesn't mess around at the extremes — the thermometer has hit 104° in June 1988 and cratered to -27° in January 1985, a swing of 131 degrees. A single July day in 2011 dropped 6.86 inches of rain, and a January storm in 1999 buried the area under 18.6 inches of snow.
Summer is the sweet spot here, with mid-July highs averaging 85° — and it's also the wettest stretch, so pack accordingly. Winter bites hard, with mid-January highs averaging just 29°. Spring and fall move fast, so if you're chasing comfortable 60s and 70s, aim for May or September.