Zion, Illinois Weather
Zion, Illinois — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery for Zion, Lake County.
Full aviation weather for Zion is published on the Waukegan National Airport (KUGN) page, 4 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 Zion 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 Zion: Kenosha Regional Airport (KENW) 18 km · Campbell Airport (KC81) 24 km · Camp Lake Airport (K49C) 28 km · Sylvania Airport (KC89) 30 km · John H Batten Airport (KRAC) 35 km
Conditions reported at KUGN describe the airfield itself. Weather 4 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Zion specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
About Zion, Illinois
Zion rises from the flatlands of northeastern Illinois, a place where the sky feels vast and the wind carries the scent of distant fields. It lies 5.7 miles north of Waukegan, IL (from Waukegan, IL: bearing 6°T), and is situated 9.6 miles south of Kenosha. The land here is largely given over to agriculture, a broad, open canvas under a sun that can blaze fiercely in summer and cast long, pale shadows in winter. The terrain is remarkably level, a gently sloping plain that drains towards Lake Michigan, its presence a palpable force even miles inland, influencing the air with a humid whisper. The streets of Zion are laid out in a grid, a deliberate design that speaks of its origins, and the houses, many of them modest and well-maintained, sit on generous lots, allowing room for gardens and the occasional old oak tree. The character of Zion is one of quiet resilience, a community rooted in its straightforward landscape, where the rhythm of the seasons dictates much of life. The history of Zion is inextricably linked to its founding as a religious community, a vision that shaped its early development and left a lasting imprint on its character. While the fervent religious fervor of its inception has softened with time, a sense of shared purpose and community still lingers, evident in the local institutions and the way neighbors look out for one another. The local economy, once heavily reliant on the religious institution and its associated businesses, has diversified, with agriculture remaining a significant presence, its fields yielding corn and soybeans that stretch to the horizon. More recently, the proximity to the greater Chicago metropolitan area has brought new residents and businesses, adding layers to the town's evolving identity. The nearby lakefront, a short drive away, offers a different kind of beauty, a vast expanse of water that draws people in warmer months, a stark contrast to the inland plains of Zion itself.
Live animated radar for Zion 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 | Zion, Lake County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 42.446132°N, 87.83285°W |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 60099 |
| Area Code | 312, 773 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Zion, Illinois Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Zion, 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 Zion includes coordinates 42.446132°N, 87.832850°W, situated in Lake County. ZIP code 60099. Telephone area code: 312, 773. 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.
