Chicago weather hit with polar punch

Prepare for a downright frigid day in the Chicago area.

Chicago weather forecast

What we know:

Today will be very cold with temperatures going nowhere. Most of the day will be in the teens. At least there will be some sunshine. Tonight will be partly to mostly cloudy. Lows tonight will be near zero in some suburbs and maybe 8 degrees in the city.

Future forecast

Timeline:

Here's a look ahead at the rest of this week's forecast.

Tuesday: Tomorrow will be very cold with partly to mostly sunny skies as a light snowmaker drifts through central Illinois and Indiana grazing the Kankakee River Valley. Highs will be in the teens with wind chills around zero all day.

Wednesday: Wednesday will be mostly sunny and not quite as harsh with highs in the low 20s

Thursday and Friday: Milder air arrives with both days likely to have highs in the mid to upper 30s.

Weekend: Yet another arctic blast will come Saturday and Sunday. There could be some light precipitation with that but no significant winter storms are in sight. 

Mars occultation

What's next:

Tonight will hopefully be clear enough to catch a celestial highlight. The full moon will appear to pass directly in front of the planet Mars. This is called an "occultation." Mars will disappear behind the moon at 8:07 p.m. and reappear on the other side at 9:16 p.m. This event can easily be viewed even in a bright urban location. Binoculars will be helpful but not necessary. 

Chicago warming centers

What you can do:

Residents can take refuge in any one of the city’s six warming centers when temperatures dip below 32 degrees.

To find the nearest warming center or city facility to escape the cold, check out the list below or call 311.

  • Englewood Community Service Center, 1140 W. 79th St.
  • Garfield Community Service Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave.
  • King Community Service Center, 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
  • North Area Community Service Center, 845 W. Wilson Ave.
  • South Chicago Community Service Center, 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
  • Trina Davila Community Service Center, 4312 W. North Ave.

Warming centers are open between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday. Their hours may be extended under extreme conditions.

The Source: This story was written from various weather models interpreted by FOX 32 Meteorologist Mike Caplan.

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