A wind chill advisory remained in effect until noon Wednesday for the Chicago area as temperatures dipped below zero and wind chills were as low as minus 34.
At 8 a.m., the temperature was minus 5 at O’Hare International Airport with a wind chill of minus 12, a slight improvement from minus 16 recorded at the airport just an hour earlier. In Aurora, the wind chill reached minus 34, in DeKalb minus 30, in Bartlett minus 22 and in Kankakee minus 21.
Warming centers have opened in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
The last time Chicago was this cold was Feb. 7 of last year when temperatures reached minus 7 degrees, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Birk. Temperatures dipped again to minus 5 on Feb. 14.
Just three years ago, in 2019, the city recorded a Jan. 25 with a temperature of minus 6 degrees.
The record low for this date is minus 16 set in 1897.
Wednesday’s temperature will rise to around 10 degrees, but the wind chill will remain extremely cold, reaching as low as minus 20 again, according to the weather service.
Wednesday night’s wind chill is expected around minus 7 degrees.
A warm-up is expected Thursday, when daytime temperatures rise to 30 degrees, with nighttime lows nearly reaching the single digits. There’s also a chance of snow.
