Last reviewed 2026-07-25. Journalists, researchers, and community groups are welcome to cite any figure on this page with attribution and a link.
Figures used across this site come from public sources, and this page gathers them in one place. Climate values are NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for Chicago O'Hare International Airport, station USW00094846, the nearest first-order station to Palatine. Storm counts come from National Weather Service Chicago event summaries and its monthly Storm Data. Housing figures come from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's June 2026 Community Data Snapshots, which draw on 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates.
Normals are 30-year averages, so any single year can be wetter, snowier or windier than these tables. The storm table lists events whose summaries were checked for this site; it is not a complete record, and none of the tornado tracks in it passed through Palatine. Parkway figures are the villages' own, as posted on their websites in 2026.
36.89 in
Normal yearly precipitation at O'Hare, 1991-2020
NOAA NCEI normals, USW00094846
62 mph
Gust measured at O'Hare in the August 10, 2020 derecho
NWS Chicago Storm Data, August 2020
1977
Median year Palatine's homes were built
CMAP Community Data Snapshot, June 2026
25,000+
Parkway trees in the care of Palatine's Forestry Division
Village of Palatine Forestry Division
Month by month at O'Hare
Summer carries the most water: June, July and August total 12.05 inches, and August alone averages 4.90, the wettest month of the year. Winter adds weight in another form, with 36.3 inches of snow in a normal year and about 42.7 days when the high stays at or below freezing. For trees on clay, the wet late summer matters because soaked soil gives roots less grip just when leaves are full and heavy.
| Month | Normal high (F) | Normal low (F) | Precipitation (in) | Snowfall (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31.0 | 16.5 | 1.73 | 10.8 |
| February | 35.3 | 20.1 | 1.79 | 9.1 |
| March | 46.6 | 29.2 | 2.50 | 5.6 |
| April | 59.0 | 38.8 | 3.38 | 1.2 |
| May | 70.0 | 48.3 | 3.68 | trace |
| June | 79.7 | 58.1 | 3.45 | 0.0 |
| July | 84.1 | 63.9 | 3.70 | 0.0 |
| August | 81.9 | 62.9 | 4.90 | 0.0 |
| September | 74.8 | 54.3 | 3.21 | 0.0 |
| October | 62.3 | 42.8 | 3.15 | 0.2 |
| November | 48.2 | 32.4 | 3.15 | 1.2 |
| December | 34.8 | 20.7 | 2.25 | 8.2 |
NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals for USW00094846. Annual totals: 36.89 in of precipitation and 36.3 in of snow; May snowfall is a trace.
Frost dates and the growing season
The Morton Arboretum's safe window for pruning oaks, early November to very early April, falls in the cold half of this calendar, when O'Hare's normal lows run from 32.4 degrees in November down to 16.5 in January and the sap beetles that spread oak wilt are least active. The one-in-ten dates show how far a late spring or an early fall can stretch.
| Measure | O'Hare value |
|---|---|
| Median last night at 32 F or colder | April 22 |
| Later than this in 1 year in 10 | May 7 |
| Median first night at 32 F or colder | October 19 |
| Earlier than this in 1 year in 10 | October 3 |
| Median last night at 28 F or colder | April 11 |
| Median first night at 28 F or colder | October 30 |
| Median season free of 32 F nights | 177 days |
| Median season free of 28 F nights | 201 days |
| Nights at 32 F or colder, per year | 121.8 |
| Days with a high of 32 F or colder, per year | 42.7 |
| Nights at 0 F or colder, per year | 7.1 |
| Days at 90 F or hotter, per year | 14.0 |
NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual and seasonal normals for USW00094846 (PRBLST, PRBFST, PRBGSL and AVGNDS fields).
Storm events checked for this site
None of the tornado tracks in these summaries crossed Palatine. The damage recorded nearest the village came from wind: the 2020 derecho's gusts at O'Hare and Schaumburg, and downed lines in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect in July 2026. Across its whole forecast area, NWS Chicago counted 615 tornadoes from 1950 through 2017, about nine a year.
| Date | Event | NWS Chicago summary | Northwest suburbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 10, 2020 | Derecho | 15 tornadoes in the office's area; more than 160 damaging wind reports | 62 mph gust measured at O'Hare; 60 to 70 mph estimated in Schaumburg |
| Jul 15, 2024 | Derecho and tornadoes | 32 tornadoes, a record for one event | No confirmed track in Palatine or the four towns; nearest an EF-0 from Bensenville to Rosemont |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Tornado outbreak | 24 tornadoes | None in northwest Cook County |
| Jul 27, 2026 | Severe storms | 7 tornadoes; 104 mph gust near Monee | Power lines down in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect; branches on wires in Wheeling |
| Aug 11, 2026 | Derecho | 8 tornadoes; 99 mph gust at the Gary airport | No tornado near Palatine |
From NWS Chicago event pages and August 2020 Storm Data. Storm Data times are in CST; the 2020 O'Hare gust came in mid-afternoon.
Housing age in Palatine and the four towns
Each of these towns built most of its housing between 1940 and 1989, and yard trees planted in that era are now mature. Palatine's own growth shows the pace: 4,079 residents in 1950, 11,504 in 1960, 26,050 in 1970 and 32,166 in 1980, against 67,908 at the 2020 census.
| Place | Median year built | Built 1940-1969 | Built 1970-1989 | Detached single-family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | 1977 | 28.1% | 45.5% | 42.5% |
| Arlington Heights | 1974 | 36.3% | 40.5% | 53.5% |
| Rolling Meadows | 1973 | 42.0% | 39.1% | 53.0% |
| Inverness | 1984 | 22.6% | 43.2% | 85.5% |
| Hoffman Estates | 1976 | 29.8% | 49.5% | 60.1% |
CMAP Community Data Snapshots, June 2026 release, from 2020-2024 ACS five-year estimates.
Parkway programs side by side
The villages publish different details, so a dash here means the figure was not on the pages checked, not that it is zero. The comparison shows why a stump or pruning standard in one town is not the rule in the next.
| Place | Parkway trees | Pruning cycle | Stump grinding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | More than 25,000 | - | Ground in batches; grindings removed, topsoil and seed added |
| Arlington Heights | 36,000 | 4 to 5 years | 8 to 12 in below the surface |
| Hoffman Estates | - | 4 to 7 years, mostly late fall and winter | 18 in below grade in the 2026-2027 contract |
Village of Palatine Forestry Division and Parkway Tree Removal pages; Arlington Heights forestry and maintenance pages; Hoffman Estates tree care page and 2026-2027 Tree Removal Program.
Sources & Methodology
Every figure above was taken from the primary sources below (accessed 2026-07-25). Where a number is derived (arithmetic on published figures) or covers a broader period or area, the text says so.
- NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual and seasonal normals, Chicago O'Hare International Airport (USW00094846) — ANN-PRCP-NORMAL 3689 (36.89 in), ANN-SNOW-NORMAL 363, PRBLST/PRBFST T32 and T28 dates, PRBGSL 177 and 201 days, AVGNDS counts 1218, 427, 71 and 140 (tenths); seasonal JJA precipitation 1205.
- NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, O'Hare — Monthly normal highs, lows, precipitation and snowfall in the first table; May snowfall is coded -7777 (trace).
- NWS Chicago Storm Data, August 2020 — 62 mph measured gust at O'Hare and 60 to 70 mph estimated in Schaumburg on August 10, 2020.
- NWS Chicago, August 10, 2020 derecho — 15 tornadoes in the Chicago office's area and more than 160 damaging wind reports.
- NWS Chicago, July 15, 2024 derecho and tornadoes — 32 tornadoes, beating the previous one-event record of 22; nearest track the Bensenville to Rosemont EF-0.
- NWS Chicago, July 27, 2026 severe storms — 7 tornadoes, 104 mph gust near Monee, power lines down in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect.
- CMAP Community Data Snapshot, Palatine (June 2026) — Median year built 1977, year-built shares and housing types; the other four towns come from their own CMAP snapshots.
- Village of Palatine Forestry Division — More than 25,000 parkway trees; planting, trimming and removal of all parkway trees.
- Village of Arlington Heights, Public Works maintenance — Four- to five-year pruning cycle and stumps ground 8 to 12 inches below the surface.
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Quick Answers
Why use O'Hare's numbers for Palatine?
O'Hare is the nearest first-order weather station, with NOAA's full set of 1991-2020 normals, including the freeze-date probabilities and day counts used in these tables. The airport lies southeast of the village, in the same glaciated landscape. Readings in Palatine on a given night can differ by a few degrees, and storms vary from block to block, but the monthly and seasonal patterns carry over.
Do these storm counts mean Palatine avoids tornadoes?
No. They show only that the tracks surveyed in these particular events missed the village. NWS Chicago's climatology counts 615 tornadoes across its forecast area from 1950 through 2017, about nine a year, and a single track can be narrow enough to miss one town and hit the next. Wind from derechos and severe thunderstorms reaches far more ground than tornadoes do.
What does a median construction year of 1977 say about yard trees?
It says a typical Palatine house has been standing for close to 50 years, and a tree planted with it has had that long to grow. A fast species such as silver maple reaches 50 to 70 feet at maturity, according to the Morton Arboretum. Trees of that size over roofs and wires need regular pruning, and some, especially weak-wooded or pest-damaged ones, reach the point where removal is the safer choice.
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