If you think it’s been cold in the Midwest, the worst is yet to come. This week, the polar vortex will bring an Arctic chill and winds which could result in the lowest temperatures for some cities in over two decades!
There are a few records expected to be broken this week. A few cities that will come close to their record lows include Chicago, Cedar Rapids, and Waterloo and Iowa. By Wednesday and Thursday, Twin Cities will be as low as minus 20s and possibly minus 20s in Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago and Milwaukee. At a minimum, these cities will be below -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
For Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, as well as Iowa, they could break their all-time record lows of minus 29 and minus 34 degrees. Thursday will be the coldest day along the Northeast Interstate 95 corridor from Washington D.C. to Boston with sub-zero temperatures.
As a comparison, Chicago last experienced temperatures of minus 20 degrees on January 18th, 1994. Des Moines was as low as minus 20 degrees on February 4th, 1996. Milwaukee saw 20 below zero in early February 19996. For Minneapolis and St. Paul, they saw temperatures of 25 below zero on December 26th, 1996. The last time it was this cold in Detroit was January 16th, 2009 with temperatures of minus 15 degrees.
These areas should be prepared for extreme cold temperatures and limit time outside as much as possible.
Tuesday through Thursday, the bitter cold will feel even colder due to strong winds which could lead to life-threatening wind chills in the Midwest. A large area of the Midwest will experience wind chills between minus 30s to minus 50s below zero. A few areas in Minnesota and eastern North Dakota could have wind chills as low as 60 below zero. For Minnesota, this could be a record-setting all-time low.
Numerous chill warnings, watches, and advisories have already been issued by the National Weather Service all across the Midwest. Chill warnings are only issued when wind chills are expected to be dangerously cold.
