Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wabash
- When
- January 25, 9:00 PM CST to January 27, 5:00 AM CST
- Where
- Wabash forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.446, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold and Cold in Illinois, January 25 to 27, 2026
A cold air mass with sub-freezing temperatures that originated from Siberia was reinforced by a major winter storm that brought a snowpack across portions of southern Illinois on the 25th. Breezy west to northwest winds with occasional gusts around 20 mph caused dangerous intervals of wind chills between -15 to locally -18 in Williamson County, IL on the 26th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
- 19
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 PAH wrote it up.
A cold air mass with sub-freezing temperatures that originated from Siberia was reinforced by a major winter storm that brought a snowpack across portions of southern Illinois on the 25th. Breezy west to northwest winds with occasional gusts around 20 mph caused dangerous intervals of wind chills between -15 to locally -18 in Williamson County, IL on the 26th. Northwest portions of southern Illinois and areas south of route 13 only experienced advisory criteria with values of -9 to -14. Dangerous wind chills eventually came to an end during the early morning hours of the 27th. The one exception was in Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac County, IL where wind chills warmed above -5 the morning of the 26th due to calmer winds.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
12 cold/wind chill, 7 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saline
- When
- January 25, 9:00 PM CST to January 27, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Saline forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.753, -88.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Jackson
- When
- January 25, 10:00 PM CST to January 27, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 37.785, -89.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Gallatin
- When
- January 25, 10:00 PM CST to January 27, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Gallatin forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.763, -88.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Edwards
- When
- January 25, 11:00 PM CST to January 27, 5:00 AM CST
- Where
- Edwards forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.417, -88.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Perry
- When
- January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 2:00 AM CST
- Where
- Perry forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.084, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Franklin
- When
- January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 2:00 AM CST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.992, -88.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, White
- When
- January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- White forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.088, -88.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Union
- When
- January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 2:00 AM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.471, -89.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Johnson
- When
- January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 2:00 AM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.460, -88.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Pope
- When
- January 26, 1:00 AM CST to January 27, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pope forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.413, -88.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Hardin
- When
- January 26, 1:00 AM CST to January 27, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hardin forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Jefferson
- When
- January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.301, -88.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Wayne
- When
- January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.430, -88.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hamilton
- When
- January 26, 3:00 AM CST to January 27, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hamilton forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 38.082, -88.539 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Williamson
- When
- January 26, 3:00 AM CST to January 27, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Williamson forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.730, -88.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Alexander
- When
- January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Alexander forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Pulaski
- When
- January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pulaski forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- Coordinates
- 37.223, -89.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Massac
- When
- January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Massac forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 37.219, -88.708 (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.
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, January 25 to 26, 2026
- Winter Storm in New York, January 25 to 26, 2026
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Alabama, January 25, 2026
- Winter Storm in New Jersey, January 25 to 26, 2026
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Florida, January 25, 2026
- Winter Storm in New York, January 25 to 26, 2026
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 25 to 27, 2026
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Kentucky, January 25 to 27, 2026
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, January 25, 2026
- Winter Storm in New Jersey, January 25 to 26, 2026
- Cold in Alabama, January 25 to 27, 2026
- Winter Storm in New York, January 25 to 26, 2026
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 2026
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1307873, 1307885, 1307883, 1307887, 1307864, 1307878, 1307879, 1307882, 1307888, 1307890, 1307891, 1307892, 1307853, 1307854, 1307881, 1307884, 1307894, 1307896, 1307897.