Thornton, Illinois Weather
Thornton, Illinois — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for Thornton, Cook County.
Full aviation weather for Thornton is published on the Lansing Municipal Airport (KIGQ) page, 8 km away. It carries the current METAR decoded into plain language — surface wind, visibility, cloud layers and ceiling, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter setting — alongside the raw observation as transmitted. 6 airfields within reach of Thornton have their own pages, listed below.
The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is shown across its full validity period, with each change group broken out so you can see when conditions are expected to shift. Flight category is derived automatically — VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR — from reported ceiling and visibility, with runway details and field elevation alongside. Observations update roughly hourly and forecasts several times a day.
Other airports near Thornton: Gary/Chicago International Airport (KGYY) 17 km · Bult Field (KC56) 22 km · Chicago Midway International Airport (KMDW) 27 km · Hobart Sky Ranch Airport (K3HO) 29 km · Lowell Airport (KC97) 38 km
Conditions reported at KIGQ describe the airfield itself. Weather 8 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Thornton specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for Thornton.
About Thornton, Illinois
Thornton lies in a landscape of gently rolling terrain, where the sky seems to stretch infinitely above the cultivated fields and scattered stands of trees. It lies 3.6 miles west of Lansing, IL (from Lansing, IL: bearing 274°T), and is situated 5.7 miles west of Hammond. The air here, especially in the late afternoon, carries a faint, sweet scent of drying grasses and damp earth, a testament to the region’s agricultural roots. This is a place where the horizon often feels like a tangible line, a boundary between the well-tended land and the vast expanse of blue above, and where the quiet hum of cicadas is often the loudest sound to break the stillness. The houses, many with broad porches and well-kept yards, seem to settle into the land as if they have always belonged, their windows reflecting the shifting light of the day. The history of Thornton is deeply entwined with the rich soil and the determination of those who first settled here, seeking to carve a life from the fertile prairie. For generations, farming has been the lifeblood of Thornton, with fields of corn and soybeans stretching out in ordered rows, a visual echo of the land’s enduring bounty. While agriculture remains a significant presence, the local economy has diversified, finding new avenues in small businesses and services that cater to the needs of its residents, fostering a sense of self-reliance. The distinctive limestone quarries, long a source of building material and employment, have left their mark on the landscape and the town's character, a reminder of the earth’s hidden wealth and the industry that has shaped Thornton’s past and continues to influence its present.
Live animated radar for Thornton and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | Thornton, Cook County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41.56809°N, 87.6081°W |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 60476 |
| Area Code | 708 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Thornton, Illinois Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Thornton, Illinois, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Aviation weather — live METAR observations and TAF forecasts — is published separately on the pages for the nearest reporting airports, linked from the aviation section above. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Thornton includes coordinates 41.568090°N, 87.608100°W, situated in Cook County. ZIP code 60476. Telephone area code: 708. Timezone: Central Time (America/Chicago).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.
