Climate and average weather in Grayslake

In Grayslake, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Grayslake typically varies from 19°F to 80°F, and is rarely below 1°F or above 89°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Grayslake for warm-weather activities is from late May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
19°
Wettest
Apr
4.4 in
Driest
Feb
2.0 in
Rain / yr
37.1 in
119 wet days
Daylight
8.9–15.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
784 ft
42.3°N
Clearest
Sep
50% cloud

Grayslake is village in Lake County, Illinois, United States.

Founded
1840

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Grayslake weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Grayslake, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.1 months, from May 26 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 68°F. The hottest month of the year in Grayslake is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts 3.2 months, from December 2 to March 8, with daily high temperatures below 39°F. The coldest month of the year in Grayslake is January, with an average low of 19°F and high of 30°F.

Days typically run about 13°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3019
Feb3320
Mar4229
Apr5340
May6451
Jun7662
Jul8067
Aug7966
Sep7258
Oct6046
Nov4635
Dec3525

How hot and cold Grayslake really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 5°F (around January 19), with roughly 160 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 75 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan3030719
Feb33331020
Mar42422129
Apr53533340
May64644851
Jun75766262
Jul81806767
Aug79796666
Sep72725858
Oct60604246
Nov46462735
Dec35351525

Average hourly temperature in Grayslake

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Grayslake weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan30° / 19°2.39.16.49.30.0
Feb33° / 20°2.07.25.310.30.0
Mar42° / 29°2.69.73.211.60.6
Apr53° / 40°4.412.21.213.12.9
May64° / 51°4.112.3014.45.3
Jun76° / 62°3.611.40156.5
Jul80° / 67°3.310.8014.86.4
Aug79° / 66°3.610.7013.76.7
Sep72° / 58°2.99012.36.9
Oct60° / 46°3.39.50.110.84.8
Nov46° / 35°2.68.51.49.61.4
Dec35° / 25°2.48.84.590.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Grayslake gets about 37.1 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from around Mar 25 to Aug 24, peaking in April at about 41% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 6.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 4.4 in over about 12 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.0 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 21 · 41%Feb 6 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb267
Mar3110
Apr4012
May4012
Jun3811
Jul3511
Aug3411
Sep319
Oct3010
Nov289
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Grayslake collects about 37.1 in of rain across 119 wet days — roughly 3.1 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 4.4 in, while February is the driest at just 2.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.32.02.64.44.13.63.33.62.93.32.62.4
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2.396
Feb2.075
Mar2.6103
Apr4.4121
May4.1120
Jun3.6110
Jul3.3110
Aug3.6110
Sep2.990
Oct3.3100
Nov2.691
Dec2.495

Snow in Grayslake

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Grayslake averages about 22 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 31 to Apr 25 — about 5.8 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 12 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 41 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 16
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan612
Feb510
Mar35
Apr13
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov13
Dec59

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Grayslake, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 19 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around October 21. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 57% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 22 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around May 18. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 5 · 60%Jan 4 · 29%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3268
Feb3565
Mar3763
Apr3763
May4159
Jun4852
Jul5644
Aug5743
Sep5743
Oct4753
Nov3664
Dec3268

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 13, brings about 15 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 8 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.37:254:38
Feb10.36:585:15
Mar11.66:125:51
Apr13.15:186:27
May14.44:367:00
Jun15.04:207:25
Jul14.84:337:22
Aug13.75:046:48
Sep12.35:385:55
Oct10.86:125:02
Nov9.66:514:24
Dec9.07:214:16

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Grayslake averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.2 months, from around May 18 to Oct 21. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is January, down near 6 sunny days — about 51% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 613 daysJan 86 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb7Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May9Mixed
Jun10Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug12Mixed
Sep13Mixed
Oct10Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Grayslake, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around May 27 to September 23. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 68% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 24 to May 26, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 14 · 100%Jul 20 · 29%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar10000000
Apr9720000
May79108200
Jun3224222030
Jul11212628131
Aug12242627120
Sep4622181120
Oct8883100
Nov9910000
Dec10000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Grayslake is typically light breeze, near 9 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.3 months, from around Sep 28 to May 7. The windiest month is November, averaging about 11 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 8 to Sep 27, with August the calmest month at about 7 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyNov 18 · 11 mphAug 9 · 7 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan10light breeze
Feb10light breeze
Mar10light breeze
Apr10light breeze
May9light breeze
Jun8light breeze
Jul8light breeze
Aug7calm
Sep9light breeze
Oct10light breeze
Nov11light breeze
Dec10light breeze

Best time to visit Grayslake

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Grayslake throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early June, Grayslake is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Grayslake for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 6 · 7.2

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.6poor
Apr2.9poor
May5.3fair
Jun6.5good
Jul6.5good
Aug6.7good
Sep6.9good
Oct4.8fair
Nov1.4poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Grayslake for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 29 · 6.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Grayslake, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 80°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 30°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Grayslake sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 67°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Grayslake

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 9 mi away) is warmest in August at about 71°F and coldest in March near 36°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 18 to Sep 8 — about 1.7 months when the water holds above 68°F.

30°40°50°60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan38Bracing
Feb36Bracing
Mar36Bracing
Apr38Bracing
May43Bracing
Jun55Bracing
Jul68Refreshing
Aug71Refreshing
Sep67Cool
Oct57Bracing
Nov47Bracing
Dec42Bracing

UV index (midday) in Grayslake by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Grayslake peaks around June 22 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 22UV 9Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Grayslake

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar40
Apr60
May7.54
Jun85
Jul8.55
Aug7.54
Sep60
Oct1.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Grayslake by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Grayslake is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (October, 10 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodJul 921 µg/m³Oct 2410 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Moderate
Feb15Moderate
Mar18Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec11Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Grayslake typically lasts about 246 days, from around March 23 to November 23 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 17 to October 29.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2350%Apr 1790%Oct 2990%Nov 2350%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1331
Feb1528
Mar4131
Apr8615
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct961
Nov6330
Dec2631

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Grayslake banks about 2,797 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr3
May230
Jun562
Jul742
Aug693
Sep458
Oct109
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Grayslake receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 and 6.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 22. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.6 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 296.5 kWhDec 201.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.1Bright
Apr5.0Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.4Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.4Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov2.0Dim
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Grayslake?

Grayslake sits at 42.3°N, 88.0°W, 784 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Round Lake, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Grayslake

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Grayslake.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Grayslake has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 118 ft around an average of 794 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 308 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 787 ft.

The land around Grayslake is covered by grassland (31%), trees (25%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 2 miles, trees (37%) and grassland (28%) within 10 miles, and water (33%), cropland (24%) and trees (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
118 ft
10 miles
308 ft
50 miles
787 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Round Lake 2.5 mi · Round Lake Beach 3.1 mi · Mundelein 6.2 mi · Libertyville 6.2 mi · Gurnee 7.5 mi · Vernon Hills 9.3 mi · Waukegan 9.9 mi · North Chicago 11 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Grayslake (42.3445°, -88.0417°, elevation 784 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).