The bitter cold we expected has arrived. This morning the temperature fell to -16.6°C (2°F) at Inner Drive Technology WHQ and -18.9°C (-2°F) at Chicago's official reporting station at O'Hare. It hasn't been this cold since the wee hours of January 22nd. Unlike that frigid week when we got 5 days in a row below -10°C, this time around things will change quickly.
Just look at the latest CPC forecast for Christmas week:
The CPC hasn't revised their January and February forecasts since mid-November, before the data showed the shift from La Niña to ENSO-neutral had begun.
So even though today's forecast predicts a high of -11°C (12°F), it also predicts temperatures rising from tomorrow morning through Thursday with a possible peak of 10°C mid-week.
Another note: don't believe the Inner Drive Technology WHQ temperature records for a few hours. The cold weakened the batteries so much that they couldn't provide enough power to connect to my WiFi network. When I rebooted the sensor, it warmed up much more quickly than I'd expected. So even though it was only inside for less than two minutes, it warmed up 18°C. It should get back to ambient temperatures in an hour or so, but it will report a high temperature of -1.1°C until tomorrow morning when I can correct the data. The Lakeview/Pine Grove station 3 km to the southeast is a good substitute today.
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