Continuation of Bitterly Cold Weather in Chicago with Wind Chills as Low as -25

CHICAGO (WLS) — The bitterly cold weather continues Monday with wind chills well below zero.

ABC7 Accuweather Meteorologist Tracy Butler says wind chills are forecast to get between -15 to -25 Monday.

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Wind chills Tuesday morning could reach as low as -30 degrees and Wednesday morning is also forecast to have below zero wind chills.

Temperatures reached -1 degree at O’Hare Airport Monday morning.

A Cold Weather Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service for various counties in Illinois and Indiana until noon on Monday. These include Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, La Salle, McHenry, Will in Illinois, and Lake and Porter in Indiana.

Despite the extreme cold, warming centers have been set up in Chicago. However, Chicago Public Library locations will be closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. For more information on warming centers, residents can contact 311.

Drivers in need of assistance on the Illinois Tollway can call *999 to get assistance from the Zero Weather Road Patrols.

Both Monday and Tuesday are non-attendance days for CPS students.

Wind chills will be -10 to -20 late Sunday, -15 to -25 Monday morning, -15 to -30 Tuesday morning, and -10 to -20 Wednesday morning.

According to Connor Smith, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Bismarck, in temperatures like these, frostbite can occur in less than 10 minutes on exposed skin. To stay safe, individuals are advised to wear warm clothing such as coats, hats, and gloves, and limit their time outside.

Warning signs of frostbite include numbness, pale or waxy skin, redness or pain.

The CDC recommends immediately getting out of the cold and into a warmer environment if this occurs. Avoid rubbing the frostbitten area or walking on frostbitten feet or toes, as this can cause more damage. Instead, put the frostbitten areas in warm – not hot – water. If this is not available, use body heat from other parts of the body to warm the area, such as by placing frostbitten hands or fingers in an armpit. Do not use heating pads or heat from a stove, as the affected areas may easily burn.

People with asthma, chronic lung disease, or other respiratory conditions or illnesses are at higher risk when temperatures drop because cold, dry air irritates the airways, said Dr. Haitham Khraishah, a preventive cardiologist at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute and an assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

This leads to greater inflammation and causes muscles around the airways to constrict, which can lead to wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or a burning feeling in the chest, especially during exertion.

Temperatures moderate some toward the end of next week, but will still be cold.

AP News contributed to this report.

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