Chicago weather: Frigid weekend brings coldest weather since January

Sylvan Lebrun, Chicago Tribune on Nov 30, 2024

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CHICAGO — With December’s arrival, bitterly cold weather is set to continue into early next week with wind chills in the single digits.

The Chicago area has not seen such chilly weather since mid-January, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday nights are predicted to reach lows in the teens, according to the weather service forecast.

Sunday should look like a “carbon copy” of Saturday, bringing cold weather, highs in the 20s and “some sunshine in the afternoon,” according to National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi. There is also a slight chance of flurries on Sunday morning, but “nothing of significance,” Izzi said.

The coldest wind chills — a metric that describes how temperatures feel to the human body when combined with the wind intensity — are predicted to occur in the early morning hours Sunday, when the wind chill may plummet down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the weather service.

As a new week begins, the daily highs are predicted to be around freezing in the high 20s and lower 30s, with a chance of “a little bit of light snow” on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to Izzi.

Wednesday should be the “mildest day in the next 10 (days),” Izzi said, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees. More cold air will return afterward and remain through next weekend, he added.

The City of Chicago opened its warming centers on Friday and plans to make them available again on Monday, according to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Only some of the warming locations will remain open throughout the weekend.

Individuals seeking respite from the cold on Saturday and Sunday can visit the Garfield Community Service Center at 10 S Kedzie Avenue, Chicago Park District locations or most Chicago Public Library locations, which are all open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Chicago police district stations are also open for warming and do not have a stated time limitation.