Light Snow Possible Wednesday; More Snow On The Way

ILLINOIS — Another round of light snow is possible Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the area will see up to an inch of snow, while south of Interstate 80 may see up to 2 inches of snow.

The snow will begin Wednesday afternoon, and accumulations may cause slippery travel for the afternoon commute, the weather service said. The snow will taper off Wednesday evening from north to south.

According to the weather service, additional rounds of fluffy snow accumulations are also possible through early next week. One of the better chances of snow appears to be Friday night into Saturday.

The weather service said the cold arctic air also still remains in place, and the lowest wind chill values will range from 5 below to 15 below zero on Wednesday night into Thursday. This cold air mass will remain entrenched across the area into early next week.

The blast of cold air will send temperatures to the Chicago area to as cold as minus 10 degrees over the next week.

But is this the coldest it’s ever been in Illinois?

No.

Illinois' record cold temperature was recorded on Jan. 31, 2019, when the temperature in Mount Carroll was 38 degrees below zero, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Education.

See Also: The Polar Vortex Returns: Prevent Pipe-Freezing; Should You Warm Up Your Car?

That temperature record may not be broken in this blast of bitter arctic air, but the polar vortex is unusual because the frigid cold is expected to stick around at least through Valentine’s Day,

A meteorological phenomenon that hasn't hit the United States since 2019, a polar vortex is a large area of low pressure located near the poles; and at times during the winter months, the low pressure breaks down, sending south all that bottled-up cold air.

The result? Extremely frigid temperatures and huge plunges of cold air.

This one is living up to its billing.

It has been frightfully cold over much of the north-central United States. On Tuesday, double-digit subzero temperatures were common as far south as Iowa, and the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warned the frigid temperatures are made worse by a wind that may make it feel like minus 50 degrees through Sunday.

Temperatures may struggle to make it above zero in many areas over the next week. The stretch of bitterly cold weather was expected to plunge every U.S. state, including Hawaii, below freezing.

Don’t lose hope. Spring is coming, and summer after that — though now might not be the time to tell you summer can bring extreme heat to many areas of the United States. The record high temperature was 117 degrees, recorded on July 14, 1954 in East St. Louis.