Are Chicago schools closed today? List of schools that are closed, on e-learning due to cold

Some Chicago-area schools Wednesday will remain on e-learning schedules as another bitter cold morning is expected in Northeastern Illinois, but does that include Chicago Public Schools?

The move comes after more than 100 schools across the city and the suburbs either closed or moved to online learning due to extreme cold, with wind chills as low as -30.

According to the Emergency Closing Center, at least nine schools in the Chicago area were on e-learning schedules Wednesday. The majority of the schools were in the southeastern suburbs, including elementary, middle and high schools in Crete, Monee and University Park.

"Due to the extremely low temperatures, the district will not have a fully operational student transportation fleet tomorrow," a post on Crete-Monee High Schools website said. "As a result, we will extend the E-Learning Day until Wednesday, January 22nd, to continue our instructional programs with minimal disruption."

Chicago Public Schools Wednesday was open, though it was closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Tuesday for a "Teacher Institute Day."

The latest list of schools that were delayed or on e-learning schedules Wednesday can be found here. (NOTE: If you are accessing this link from our app, please go to your mobile browser).

Chicago forecast

But there's some good news, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said: After two days of extreme cold warnings and cold weather advisories across Northeastern Illinois — featuring temperatures in the single digits and wind chill values as low as -30 — highs Wednesday will be in the 20s, with "feels-like" temperatures in the teens.

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"Finally back into the 20s," Roman said early Wednesday morning. "Still below average, but definitely warmer."

Roman noted the cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings had shifted to the southern part of the U.S., including parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where winter storms were bringing as much as 11 inches of snow.

"Some parts of the south have seen more snow than Chicago has seen all season long," Roman said.

Temperatures through the end of the week in the Chicago area were expected to remain in the 20s, Roman said, rebounding over the weekend and late next week.

"Most of next week will stay above the average of 31 degrees, and stay above freezing," Roman said.

Snow on the way; accumulation possible

As temperatures warm slightly Wednesday, snow was expected to move in, Roman said, with snowfall beginning around 8 a.m. in the Chicago area.

The snow will start north of I-80 around that time, the National Weather Service said, with widespread snow showers expected to continue on-and-off through Wednesday afternoon and evening.

"There may be a lull in the afternoon, but snow chances return tonight," the NWS said.

Accumulations of between one and one-and-a-half inches of snow were possible, Roman said, before snow gradually comes to an end Wednesday night.

While snow totals may be light, "very cold ground temperatures will lead to slippery travel on untreated roadways," the NWS warned.

According to Roman, lake effect snow in Porter County in Northwest Indiana was possible Thursday.