Historic Cold in Forecast for Week Ahead in Chicago
The current forecast calls for a high temperature of negative-8 degrees on Wednesday
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NBC 5’s Alicia Roman has the latest forecast.
Chicago residents are bracing for bitterly cold air to move into the area later this week, and according to the latest forecasts, Wednesday could be a potentially historic day.
According to the latest models from the NBC 5 Storm Team, the forecasted high temperature for Wednesday is negative-8 degrees. If that forecast holds, it would be the third-lowest high temperature ever recorded in the city of Chicago, and the lowest high temperature in the last 25 years.
The coldest high temperature ever recorded in Chicago history came on Jan. 20, 1994, when the mercury topped out at a preposterous negative-11 degrees. That temperature came in one of the coldest stretches in the city’s history, as the temperature remained below zero for several days in a row.
The second-coldest day in Chicago history came on Jan. 25, 1950, when the mercury topped out at negative-10 degrees.
After a sunny start to the day, cloud cover will begin to build into the area in the early evening hours with a Winter Weather Advisory issued for DeKalb and LaSalle counties from 6 p.m. Sunday and for Kane, DuPage, Cook, Grundy, Kendall, and Will counties in Illinois; Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties in Indiana starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, all in effect until 6 p.m. Monday. In addition, beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday, a Winter Storm Warning will go into effect in Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois, as well as Kenosha County in Wisconsin. Heavy snow will begin to fall late Sunday in those areas, with up to 9 inches possible in some areas.
Snow is expected to begin falling in the northwest suburbs and in areas west of Chicago around 10 or 11 p.m., building into the city itself around midnight.
As the overnight hours continue and as dawn breaks, heavy snow is expected to fall in the northern suburbs, while areas south of Chicago could see a mix of rain and snow.
Areas north of Chicago could see up to nine inches of snow while areas south of the city, and especially south of I-80, will likely see accumulations of only one to three inches.
As the afternoon wears on, the storm system will begin to move out of the area, but snow is still possible in Chicago and areas south and east of the city. All warnings and advisories currently in effect set to end at 6 p.m. Monday.
As the snow moves out, extremely cold air will move into the region, giving the area the potential for dangerously low wind chills on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
In terms of potential snowfall amounts, the North American model suggests that the Chicago area could see three to four inches, while the northwest suburbs and areas of northern Illinois will get between six and eight inches.
Behind the storm system, a blast of cold air from the North Pole will filter into the Chicago area on Tuesday.
Daytime highs (yes, highs) on Wednesday are expected to fall anywhere between five and ten degrees below zero, with wind chills forecasted to drop as low as 30 to 45 degrees below zero.
Those low temperatures will stick around the area on Thursday, as the Chicago-area could once again see the mercury fail to rise into positive digits.
In the extended forecast, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, as temperatures could rise back to normal levels by next weekend.
If forecasts hold, Wednesday’s high temperature will obliterate the old record for January 30, which currently stands at three degrees above zero.
Judging by the forecast, the week is going to be one Chicagoans will remember for a long time, as temperatures are barely going to reach zero degrees on Thursday as well.
Wind chills are expected to drop to 35 to 50 degrees below zero in some locations on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, prompting warnings from city and state officials.
