The Chicago area is seeing some of its coldest temperatures in the last five years, with frigid wind chills and icy roads, but spring may be a bit closer than you think.
Before we get there however, there is a bit of good news about the amount of daylight we’re seeing in Illinois. As of Sunday, sunset is at approximately 4:42 p.m. in Chicago, about 20 minutes later than what we saw on the winter solstice several weeks ago.
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WATCH HEREIn fact, Chicago is gaining approximately 90 seconds of daylight per day, and that rate will only increase as we move through the year.
As a result, the city is just two weeks away from its first 5 p.m. sunset of the year, which will fall on Sunday, Jan. 28.
What’s more, we are hitting our average coldest stretch of the year this coming week, with average highs in mid-January settling around 31.1 degrees. There won’t be much of a gain by the end of the month, but beginning on Jan. 27 the average daily high begins to creep upward, according to the National Weather Service.
The next big milestone will come on March 19, when Chicago officially observes the spring equinox. That is 65 days away for those of you keeping track at home.
On that date, Chicago will see just over 12 hours of daylight, with an average high temperature of just over 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
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