What Will Illinois’ Summer Be Like? Here’s What The Almanacs Say

Maybe you've been so grateful that you haven't been shivering through wind-chill temperature readings over the last few weeks or so that you just didn't even think about this: Summer is just a little over one month away (Friday, June 20th, 2025 is the official first day of summer).

As a summer lover and a homeowner, I find myself with mixed emotions about the changeover from spring to summer. Warm and hot temperatures are very appealing, but I'm sure enjoying the fact that we've gone the last two weeks or more without turning on the heat or the air conditioner here in Illinois' spring season.

From what I can gather from the two most notable almanacs (The Old Farmer's Almanac and the Farmers' Almanac) out there is this: We are going to need our air conditioners this coming summer in a major way.

How Do You Prefer Your Summers In Northern Illinois, Hot And Humid Or Cool And Dry?

Taking a look through some of Rockford's weather records over the years shows that we aren't strangers to some odd highs and lows when it comes to temperatures.

• According to the National Weather Service, Rockford's all-time hottest day was on July 14, 1936, when we hit a daytime high temperature of 112 degrees. However, summertime in Northern Illinois has produced some seriously low temperatures, too.
• Rockford's coldest June day ever recorded happened back when World War II was about to come to a close on June 3, 1945. The daytime high was 50 degrees, and the overnight low was only 35.
• We just covered how July 14th, 1936 produced our all-time high of 112 degrees, but the lowest July temperatures recorded in Rockford occurred on July 4th, 1967 when our daytime high was 62 degrees, and our overnight low dropped down to 43 degrees.
• As for August, our coldest day was on August 25th of 1987, when we reached a high temperature of 59 degrees and we dropped to 35 degrees for an overnight low on August 30th of 1915.

When I Was A Kid, My Parents And Grandparents Often Used The Word "Scorcher" To Describe The Really Hot Summer Days

That word is being used in several long-term forecasts for the summer season in Illinois this year, too. It's not a question of whether or not this will be a hot summer, the question is whether or not this summer's heat in Illinois will be record-breaking or not.

So let's get to what the almanacs are saying Illinois residents can expect our summer to be like.

The Farmers' Almanac: In their piece about summer weather this year, they basically let you know from the get-go that it's going to be especially hot when they lead with these words: The Heat Is On. Illinois will start with stormy weather to start the summer, but by July, the heat will be "in full effect." The Farmers' Almanac predicts that some of Illinois' long-time temperature records will fall this summer.

The Old Farmer's Almanac: Again, another almanac is not mincing words about Illinois' summer weather when they use phrases like "It's going to be a doozy!" The Old Farmer's Almanac says to expect a "scorcher of a summer" that may be one of the hottest summers on record. They also think that Illinois will experience plenty of hot and dry summer weather.