Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 21 to 22, 2000

Low pressure over the Great Lakes region moved to the east through the day. A strong northwest wind on the back side of the low brought bitterly cold Arctic air into the region, which produced dangerously cold wind chills as well as blowing and drifting snow. High temperatures during the day ranged from the single digits below to above zero, and combined with winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour to produce wind chills as low as 40 to 50 below zero. The winds also created widespread blowing and drifting snow, in the wake of a system that brought several inches of snow to the area on December 20th. Area hospitals treated numerous patients for frostbite, falls, chest pains from shoveling snow, and snow blower injures. Law enforcement reported numerous accidents and vehicles in ditches. Many county roads were closed, or reduced to one lane, by drifting snow. The weather prompted the closing of many area schools. The harsh conditions continued overnight into the early morning hours of December 22nd. Actual temperatures across the area dropped to 5 to 10 below zero, with wind chills from 40 to 50 below, before the wind diminished in the pre-dawn hours.