After mild cloudy January here, ice storm hits southern U.S.

by: Paul Dailey, Bill Snyder, Jennifer Kohnke

Posted: Jan 31, 2023 / 09:48 PM CST

Updated: Jan 31, 2023 / 09:49 PM CST

TUESDAY MORNING — COLDEST IN 5 WEEKS

Tuesday morning temperatures dropped below zero over a large portion of the Chicago area – generally west and north of the city with single-digit readings elsewhere. After the mild start to the year that saw the average daily temps above normal for the first 25 days of January, Chicago’s official low of -1 at O’Hare marked the first sub-zero reading this year and only the 4th this winter. It had been 5 weeks since the last below zero reading, also a -1 back on December24th. The lowest official Chicago temp so far this winter is the -8 December 23rd.

Wind chills dropped below zero at all of the Chicago-area airport locations
Coldest wind chill was the -27 at Rochelle which also recorded the lowest temp of -14

Following is a list of lowest temps and coldest wind chills at area airport locations:

Lowest January sunshine on record and second least-sunniest month on record dating back to 1893
Note the apparent decrease in colder-season. sunshine (increase in cloudiness) in recent years

MAJOR ICE STORM WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY

From Texas through middle Mississippi Valley into Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia

Very dangerous travel conditions both by land and air with a coating of ice weighing-down trees and covering roads, sidewalks, all exposed surfaces – individuals advised to avoid travel and stay in protected areas. Widespread rains to the north of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico change over to freezing rain and sleet across the affected areas.

WEDNESDAY SET-UP

Upper-level winds/low-level temp pattern

As cold air sinks slowly south out of Canada, the low pressure trough over the Rockies and SW U.S, will move east triggering widespread rains across the south
Freezing rain/sleet along the northern portion of the rain band