Stadium Weather Guide

Wrigley Field Weather: Lake Michigan Wind, the Ivy, Chicago Summers

By Kevin Roth, sports meteorologist. Data-driven ballpark guide for DFS players and bettors.

Climate

Wrigley sits in the Lakeview neighborhood a half mile from Lake Michigan. That proximity to the lake is the entire weather story at Wrigley. Lake temperature holds well into the 40s through late May, which cools onshore wind and keeps carry down early in the season. Midsummer, once the lake warms, the effect softens.

How wind plays here

Center field is to the northeast (bearing 50 degrees). Southwest wind blows straight out to center and right. Northeast wind off the lake blows straight in. Wrigley is the most wind-susceptible park in the majors because of the open sightlines on all sides and the tall buildings on Sheffield and Waveland that channel flow. Wind out at 15 mph turns Wrigley into a bandbox. Wind in at 15 mph produces some of the lowest-scoring baseball anywhere.

For DFS and bettors

Wind direction is the single most important weather variable at Wrigley. Total lines swing 1.5 to 2 runs based on wind alone. Read the direction and speed at the field-level ASOS at Meigs Field or Midway, not surface observations from farther away, for the tightest reads before first pitch.