SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Wind chills dipped as low as 56 degrees below zero in northern Illinois as bitterly cold weather moved into Illinois.
The National Weather Service said Illinois is “about as dangerously cold as it can be.” The temperature Wednesday was 26 below in Rochelle, about 25 miles south of Rockford. Daily low-temperature records fell in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and Champaign-Urbana.
Chicago and Rockford’s all-time low temperatures of 27 below still stood Wednesday afternoon but weather service meteorologist Todd Kluber said they could fall overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
The low temperatures come after schools, museums, courts and other facilities across Illinois preemptively closed Wednesday. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued a disaster proclamation.
The frigid weather is expected through Thursday before temperatures are forecast to climb more than 60 degrees, to 45 on Monday in the Chicago area.
