CHICAGO — Hang in there, Chicago. Wind chills dipped below zero Sunday night in Chicago and may stay there for awhile, according to WGN-TV weather producer Bill Snyder.
Listen 🎧
“When you have any kind of a wind, even 10- to- 15 miles per hour, with single digit temperatures for highs, it’s easy to have wind chills below zero,” Snyder said. “It’s going to be with us for several days. This is quite a deep freeze we’re in right now.” Snyder says we’re not alone here in Chicago. The cold snap is affecting a large part of the United States. “On Thursday morning, 87 percent of the contiguous United States will have temperatures below freezing,” Snyder said. “It’s a pretty impressive breed of cold we’re going to endure.” But is this a polar vortex, a term popularized in the Chicago lexicon during the
infamous January 2019 cold snap ? “It is!” Snyder said. “The heart of all this cold air that’s bottled up in Canada typically, known as the polar vortex, is seeping down here. “Canada is basically going to warm up because we’re draining the Arctic.” Chicago won’t be far behind in a warmup, too. High temperatures will reach the 20s by the end of the week, the 30s by the weekend and the 40s by early next week, according to Snyder. “Seven days from now, you’re going to have temperatures that feel 50 to 60 degrees, if not even more, warmer than we have this week,” Snyder said. “It’s amazing how fast things can change!” The
city’s warming centers are open when temperatures are below 32 degrees, though only one, the Garfield Community Service Center at 10 S. Kedzie Ave., is open during the President’s Day holiday Monday. Chicago’s
22 police districts and
57 of 250 park district buildings remain open to the public, and six “drop-in centers” for those facing homelessness will be activated Monday. The Salvation Army’s Freedom Center, 825 N. Christiana Ave., will also serve as a 24-hour warming center Monday, according to the Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
