Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kane
- When
- January 29, 6:52 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kane forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold in Illinois, January 29 to 31, 2019
Extremely cold air moved across northern Illinois during the evening of January 29th and continued through midday on January 31st. Air temperatures were below zero for 52 consecutive hours at Chicago O'Hare Airport, making it the 4th longest stretch of hours below zero at Chicago.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 16 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 18
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.
Extremely cold air moved across northern Illinois during the evening of January 29th and continued through midday on January 31st. Air temperatures were below zero for 52 consecutive hours at Chicago O'Hare Airport, making it the 4th longest stretch of hours below zero at Chicago. Chicago O'Hare set a daily record low of -23 on the morning of January 30th and -21 on the morning of January 31st. Rockford set their all time record low temperature of -31 on the morning of January 31st, with a low of -25 on the morning of January 30th and -16 on the evening of January 29th. Air temperatures were below zero for 57 consecutive hours at Rockford Airport, making it the 9th longest stretch of hours below zero at Rockford.
Other low temperatures on the morning of January 31st included: -32 at Sugar Grove (ARR); -31 at Rochelle (RPJ); -29 at West Chicago (DPA); -28 at Barrington; -25 at DeKalb (DKB); -24 at Lansing (IGQ); -23 at Waukegan; -23 at Joliet (JOT) and -22 at Dwight.
The lowest wind chills occurred during the morning of January 30th. The lowest observed wind chills were -56 at DeKalb; -55 at West Chicago; -54 at Pontiac, Rochelle and Sugar Grove; -53 at Morris, Peru and Romeoville; -52 at Chicago O'Hare and Kankakee; -51 at Chicago Midway, Rockford Airport, Lansing; -50 at Chicago Northerly Island; -48 at Wheeling and -45 at Joliet and Waukegan.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
18 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lee
- When
- January 29, 7:35 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ogle
- When
- January 29, 7:35 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ogle forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 42.043, -89.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, De Kalb
- When
- January 29, 7:55 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- De Kalb forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.894, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Du Page
- When
- January 29, 9:52 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Du Page forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Winnebago
- When
- January 29, 9:54 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Winnebago forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 42.336, -89.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, La Salle
- When
- January 29, 9:55 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- La Salle forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Boone
- When
- January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Boone forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 42.323, -88.823 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McHenry
- When
- January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- McHenry forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 42.324, -88.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kendall
- When
- January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kendall forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.591, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Will
- When
- January 29, 10:15 PM CST to January 31, 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Will forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grundy
- When
- January 29, 10:35 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Grundy forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.285, -88.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cook
- When
- January 29, 10:51 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cook forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Livingston
- When
- January 29, 10:55 PM CST to January 31, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lake
- When
- January 29, 11:55 PM CST to January 31, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ford
- When
- January 30, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ford forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 40.597, -88.223 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Iroquois
- When
- January 30, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iroquois forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 40.747, -87.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kankakee
- When
- January 30, 12:35 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kankakee forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 41.138, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Extreme Cold in Wisconsin, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Cold in Michigan, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 29, 2019
- Extreme Cold in Illinois, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Vermont, January 29 to 30, 2019
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 2019
- Extreme Cold in North Dakota, January 29 to 30, 2019
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New York, January 29, 2019
- Dense Fog in California, January 29, 2019
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 2019
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 803948, 803943, 803945, 803946, 803949, 803941, 803954, 803942, 803947, 803951, 803953, 803952, 803950, 803955, 803959, 803957, 803958, 803956.