Violence plunged, too, during Polar Vortex: 2 shootings reported in 52 hours

A frigid cold snap that dropped temperatures in Chicago below zero degrees for 52 hours straight also led to a drop in the number of shootings reported in the city.

Between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 10 p.m. Thursday just two shootings were reported citywide, both on the West Side, according to Chicago police.

RELATED: Fewest murders in January in Chicago since 2010, police say

The most recent shooting happened Thursday evening in Austin.

A 30-year-old man was outside when a male he didn’t know walked up and fired shots at him at 6:16 p.m. in the first block of North LeClaire Avenue, police said.

He was shot in the lower right leg and was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was in good condition, police said.

It was nine degrees below zero when he was shot, according to the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday, one person was shot in East Garfield Park.

At 12:55 p.m., a 29-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the head about 12:55 p.m. in the 400 block of North Ridgeway Avenue, according to police. He took himself to Stroger Hospital. The man did not see where the shots were fired from.

It was 17 degrees below zero when he was shot, the weather service said.

There was a shooting as temperatures increased above zero at 2:30 a.m. Friday. A dark-colored SUV and dark-colored sedan collided about 2 a.m. in the 8100 block of South Stony Island Avenue, according to Chicago police.

Someone in the SUV then fired gunshots at the car, police said. No injuries or damaged property were reported as a result of the gunfire. Both vehicles, which had previously been reported stolen, drove away after the crash, police said. Officers recovered both vehicles.

Police could be seen investigating two vehicles that were stopped a few blocks away in the 8300 block of South Stony Island early Friday. Two men, ages 24 and 25, were considered “persons of interest” and being questioned, police said.