CHICAGO — We've mostly seen unseasonably moderate winter weather in Chicago, but residents got a blast from Chiberia's past when temperatures took a dramatic dip Sunday.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Chill Advisory late Sunday afternoon in effect from 9 p.m. Sunday until noon Monday. Wind chills will range from 20 to 30 below zero, the release said.
It felt as cold as -25 degrees on Sunday night, though the actual temperature was a little below zero, according to Jamie Enderlen, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
That is "some dangerous cold," Enderlen warned.
"Stay inside," Enderlen said. "If you have to go outside, just make sure all your extremities are covered."
Exposed skin could be frostbitten within 30 minutes during the night's cold spell, Enderlen said.
Daytime temperatures will be chilly, too, Enderlen said: The city will see its coldest temperatures so far this season with a high of 10 degrees and a low of -4 degrees is forecasted for Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chills will make it feel like -22 on Monday.
Last winter, extreme cold gripped the city for weeks at a time, making Chicago at one point colder than the North Pole. Nothing of the sort has hit the area this year, but the next 48 hours will be a reminder of how cold it can get.
"It's along the lines of what we had last winter, just not as bad or as long," said Charles Mott, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
As recently as Thursday, temperatures were pushing 40 degrees, according to National Weather Service records. But like we saw in the polar vortex of 2014, a blast of arctic air is bending down from Canada and into the Midwest, Mott said.
Very cold tonight thru Monday. Wind chills to fall to 10 to 25 below tonight through early Monday. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/KVh8fvhdoH
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 16, 2016You'll be able to feel the difference, Mott said. On top of the cold air mass, winds on Sunday will be averaging 15 to 20 miles per hours in the area, with gusts up to 30 miles per hours, he said.
"It makes me cold just telling you," he said.
Though it will be bone-chilling, Chicago will not be breaking any records Sunday or Monday.
Even last year, it was at times significantly colder, including a reading of -16 in early Jan. 2015, according to the NWS.
The coldest recorded temperature in Chicago was -27 degrees on Jan. 20, 1985, according to CBS2 Chicago. In recent years, the coldest temperature the city has seen was 18 degrees below zero on Jan. 16, 2009, according to the NWS.
"We aren't anywhere close to the records," Mott said.
Luckily, the cold spell won't last long. We should see relief in the form of 30-degree-high forecasts by the end of next week, Mott said.
After Monday, "it won't come back anytime soon," he said.
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