Chicagoans woke up to the coldest temperatures in almost a decade Friday morning, with wind chills as low as -22 degrees.
In fact, it’s even colder in Chicago right now than in parts of the arctic circle—the high in Utqiaġvik, Alaska (the northernmost city in the US) is 25 degrees as of Friday afternoon, compared to a high of just -3 degrees in Chicago.
If you were hoping the arctic temps would dissolve quickly, we’ve got some bad news—the sub-zero weather isn’t going away any time soon.
Here’s a breakdown of the cold-weather timeline.
Single-digit highs to continue into next week
Friday’s sub-zero temperatures are just the beginning of an extended weather pattern which will last into next week.
Saturday’s high will top out at 10 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, with wind chill values as low as -20 degrees throughout the day.
Sunday the high will reach 19 degrees, with snow and wind creating dangerous outdoor conditions.
Come Monday, the high will once again reach only 10 degrees, followed by an overnight low of 5 degrees. High’s will hover around the mid to upper teens the remainder of next week.
Now for some really bad news—we likely won’t see a daily high over the freezing mark for the rest of January, according to predictions from the Weather Channel.
In short, the next few weeks are going to be brutal in Chi-town, so be sure to stay safe, stay warm, and stay indoors!