CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A windchill advisory was issued for the Chicago area starting Sunday night amid the city seeing minus-20 windchill values and its coldest March day in almost two decades.
With a reading of 3 degrees below zero at O’Hare International Airport as of 5 a.m. Monday, Chicago recorded its coldest temperature for March since 2002, according to the National Weather Service. On March 4 that year, O’Hare recorded a temperature of minus 7.
The windchill advisory lifts at 9 a.m. Monday, though the cold episode is expected to persist until Wednesday, the weather service said.
Be weather-ready and bundle up this morning!A look at 5:30 a.m. temps and wind chills this morning on March…yes March…the 4th. Widespread subzero temperatures will continue through 9 a.m. with wind chills -15° to -25° below.https://t.co/hvAEYCJelM#ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/wQrVWqQbTK
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago)
March 4, 2019 Just before rush hour Monday, Chicago was seeing windchill values of 20 degrees below zero, but some suburbs up north were a few degrees colder still.
The frigid conditions are unusual for March. Instead of the normal high of about 40 degrees that arrives around this time of year, temperatures won’t surpass the mid-teens on Monday afternoon, the weather service said.
A frigid start to today by March standards will likely result in daily record cold highs this afternoon, with highs only in the lower to mid teens. Wind chills will remain below 0° for most locations today. Scattered snow showers overnight into early Tuesday a.m. #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/6VLYWz499k
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago)
March 4, 2019 The city may also break records then, as the lowest high for a March 4th was 17 degrees in 1890, the weather service said.
Tuesday will slightly warm up to a high of 21 degrees before dipping to a low of 4, the weather service said. Then, temperatures will nearly break into the 30s on Wednesday afternoon, with warmer days ahead.
Early this morning of January 4th...check that, March 4th...finds almost all of northern Illinois including Chicago below zero. Here is some perspective for this unseasonable cold in #Chicago. #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/d2HpGBGB4L
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago)
March 4, 2019 Despite the uncanny cold for the first week of March, Chicagoans have escaped anything similar to the life-threatening polar vortex from late January.
However, residents are still warned to take measures against risk of frostbite, which could still seep into exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, the weather service said.
Unseasonable cold continues through late this week. pic.twitter.com/t90g8VQsAo
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago)
March 4, 2019 (Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2019. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
