CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Dangerously cold weather continues overnight in the Chicago area.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Cold Weather Advisory for all area counties lasting until noon Tuesday.
The coldest air will arrive tonight and stick around throughout Tuesday, according to the NWS. Temps could bottom out at 7 below zero, and wind chills could flirt with 30 below zero.
AccuWeather forecasts a high of only 5 degrees on Tuesday and wind chills still substantially below zero.
Wednesday, the thaw will begin. Temps will reach the mid 20s, AccuWeather says. The gradual warmup will continue for the rest of the work week, and by Friday, we will near the freezing mark.
Monday’s arctic conditions are noteworthy, but Chicago has seen colder conditions. In fact, Jan. 20, marked the 40th anniversary of the coldest day on record for Chicago. According to the NWS, Jan. 20, 1985 recorded a low temperature of 27 below zero, accompanied by the lowest wind chill ever recorded, 57 below zero.
The cold impacted train travel, with several Metra lines experiencing wire and signal problems.
Cook County is opening courthouse warming centers in Skokie at 5600 Old Orchard Rd., Maywood at 1500 Maybrook Dr. and Markham at 16501 S. Kedzie Ave. to help residents combat the cold.
The centers will also provide water and snacks, as well as access to restrooms. They will run continuously until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Several other suburban warming centers will be open this week as well.
You can view the complete list on the Cook County website.
To get the latest information about open shelters, people can call 311 or visit 311.chicago.gov.
WBBM’s Carolina Garibay contributed to this report.
For the latest on the extreme cold stay tuned to WBBM Newsradio throughout the day.
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