The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold warning from 3 a.m. Friday until noon for central Cook County, including Chicago, Cicero, Oak Park, Oak Lawn and La Grange. Weather officials warned residents ahead of the cold stretch to expect dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30 to 35 degrees below zero.

A cold weather advisory is also in effect starting midday Friday, with wind chills between minus 15 to minus 30 degrees possible through Saturday morning, per the weather service. Forecasts called for a high of around 1 degree Friday, with gusts as fast as 30 miles per hour. By Saturday, weather officials say there’s a 50% chance of snow, primarily in the afternoon.

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A fisherman casts a line into a hole in the ice in Diversey Harbor, Jan. 22, 2026, as frigid weather descends on Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
George Miller’s beard is encrusted with ice after he took a frigid dip in Lake Michigan at Montrose Beach, on one of the coldest days in years, Jan. 23, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Brave swimmers tread water at Montrose Beach on one of Chicago’s coldest days in years, Jan. 23, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Brave souls layer up to take pics and experience the cold off Lake Michigan in below zero temps, at Montrose Beach, in one of the coldest days in years, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Layered up to take pics and experience the cold off of Lake Michigan at Montrose Beach, a person covers their face on one of the coldest days in years, Jan. 23, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Ice forms in DuSable Harbor on Lake Michigan on Jan. 22, 2026, as frigid weather descends on Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Ice forms in Monroe Harbor on Lake Michigan in front of the skyline, Jan. 22, 2026, as frigid weather descends on Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
An ice fisherman drags his portable ice shelther across Fox Lake on a bitter cold morning on Jan. 20, 2026, in Fox Lake. The temperature was in the single-digits with below-zero windchill. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Students leave Mollison Elementary School during dismissal after Chicago Public Schools canceled Friday classes due to sub-zero temperatures, Jan. 22, 2026. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold watch from 4 a.m. Thursday until noon Friday for Chicago as well as central, north central and northeast Illinois. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Homeless man Frank Solberg, who lives near Lower Columbus and South Water St., gives a hug to Angela Green, commissioner of the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services after Solberg accepted a bag of donations during the annual Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homelessness on Jan. 22, 2026. Solberg has been homeless for around 20 years. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Cristina Pacione-Zayas, chief of staff for mayor Brandon Johnson, gives out hand warmers while chatting with Andre Edward Holmes (cq) on South Water Street as the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services conduct their annual Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homelessness on Jan. 22, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
People walk along West Monroe Street as the cold temperatures set in on, Jan. 21, 2026. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
With a below-zero windchill, a pedestrian passes pockets of steam along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Ice covers surfaces Jan. 20, 2026, after an overnight fire in an apartment building in the 800 block of North May Street in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/23/photos-dangerously-cold-weather-hits-chicagoland/