Chicagoans are no stranger to winter weather. Brutally cold conditions, like those expected in the coming days, aren't something we're as accustomed to.
Windy conditions and cold temperatures will create wind chill values of up to 18 degrees below zero beginning Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service. Dangerously cold weather will arrive beginning in the evening, plunging actual temperature values from the high teens to mid 20s into the single digits.
Wind speeds of around 10 to 20 miles per hour - combined with the brutally cold temperatures - will lead to wind chills of anywhere between negative 8 and 18 degrees, according to the NWS. The most frigid values of around negative 15 to 25 degrees are expected both Sunday and Monday nights, with values of 30 degrees below zero possible locally.
Here's a timeline of the upcoming temps, wind chills, & wind speeds for upcoming cold spell. Wind chills drop below zero Sat evening & remain below zero until Wed. Coldest will be Sun night/Mon morning & Mon night into Tue morning with wind chills 15 to 25 below zero. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/QeaIPdGK0q
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 17, 2025
Temperatures Sunday morning will be between 2 and 10 degrees, with "feels-like" temperatures up to negative 20 degrees possible.
It will get even chillier from there.
Wind chill values could reach -25 on Sunday night and once again late Monday.
Weather
Significant improvements won't come until late Wednesday, when wind chill values are expected to climb above zero.
According to the NWS, Chicago typically experiences at least one cold spell of similar magnitude most winters. That was the case last January, when the region saw wind chill values as low as 32 degrees below zero.
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If you'll be spending any time outside during the brutal cold, you'll want to be especially cautious; the NWS warns that during such extreme wind chills, frostbite can occur in 30 minutes or less.
Meteorologists warn that such bitter cold conditions could lead to rapid formation of ice on local rivers. According to the NWS, ice jams that will develop "will have the potential to cause rises on area rivers with little warning and isolated areas of flooding are possible."