Chicago Weather

Chicago forecast: Cold weather advisory issued, with wind chills as low as -25 to come

Chicago isn't the only part of the country set to see a frigid forecast

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Chicago was waking up to a bitter cold morning Monday, with sub-zero temperatures and wind chills as low as -15. And it's only going to get colder from there, the NBC 5 Storm Team says.

"We're cold all the way around," NBC 5 Meteorologist Pete Sack said, of the frigid temperatures.

Across the entire Chicago area, a cold weather advisory was in effect through 12 p.m. Monday, with wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero. That advisory will go into effect again at 9 p.m., lasting through 12 p.m. Tuesday, when wind chills are expected to dip as low as 20 to 25 degrees below zero.

As of 5:30 a.m., Monday, temperatures were clocking in at -5 degrees in DeKalb, -4 degrees in Waukegan, and -3 in Chicago, Sack said. At O'Hare International Airport, temperatures were -1, but felt like -15 due to wind chills, Sack said.

"You've gotta bundle up," Sack said, of the brutal cold.

But Chicago wasn't the only part of the country set to see a frigid forecast.

President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington D.C. Monday was moved indoors due to cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings, with "dangerously cold wind chills."

In Minnesota, where temperatures were -30 in some parts, residents were urged to wear appropriate clothing and carry a survival kit for travel. Across the country, Amtrak canceled trains on at least five different lines through Wednesday due to the cold, with impacts to the Pacific Northwest, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Are Illinois schools closed due to the cold?

High temperatures Monday in the Chicago area were expected to reach only around 10 or 11 degrees, with wind chills as low as -20. Overnight, the coldest air is set to come, Sack warned.

Tuesday, morning lows will be around -6, with wind chills between -15 and -25. And while there is sunshine in the forecast, temperatures "won't warm up a whole lot," Sack said, with highs in the low single digits.

The National Weather Service reported the bitter cold Tuesday could lead to rapid ice formation on area rivers, which could lead to "ice jams and very localized flooding."

According to the Emergency Closing Center, at least three schools in the Chicago area were scheduled to be closed Tuesday, including Horizon Science Academy Belmont in Chicago, City of Hobart Schools in Indiana and Faith Movers Academy in University Park.

No schools in the area were scheduled to be closed Monday due to the cold, though some, including Chicago Public Schools, were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Some relief is expected Wednesday, with highs in the low 20s and the chance for light snow. But wind chills will remain in the single digits, Sack said.

By the weekend, temperatures were expected to bump up into the mid-30s, with more chances for on-and-off snow, Sack said.

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