How Low Did We Go? Kane Scores Lowest Temp in Northern Illinois, 3rd Lowest Wind Chill
Kane County officially was the coldest place in Northern Illinois during the history-making deep freeze of Wednesday, Jan. 30, and Thursday, Jan. 31.
Sugar Grove’s recorded low of -32 degrees is the coldest in the region on Thursday, according to information provided by the National Weather Service Chicago.
When in comes to wind chills, Sugar Grove was tied for third lowest during the two-day period, at -54 F. The coldest was DeKalb Airport at -56, followed by West Chicago at -55. All those were collected Wednesday.
On Thursday, Sugar Grove came in second in low wind chills, with a -48 reading.
We’ll add to this article if and when the NWS Chicago posts a longer list of readings, records and fun facts, so be sure to bookmark this if you want to see more.
Fast Facts
- The lowest temperature at Chicago was -23 degrees observed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Jan. 30.
- The lowest temperature at Rockford was -31 degrees observed at Chicago Rockford International Airport on Jan. 31.
- The lowest temperature at NWS Chicago in Romeoville was -24 degrees. This ties the record set on Jan. 16, 2009.
- The lowest temperature at Chicago Midway Airport 3SW observed was -22 degrees on Jan. 31, 2019.
- Overall, temperatures fell to -30°F or lower for several locations in north-central Illinois.
SOURCE: National Weather Service Chicago
Low Wind Chills
48-Hour Low Temps
Location Temp Time/Date Provider Rank Sugar Grove - Aurora Arpt. -32 F 0552 AM 01/31 ASOS Rochelle Airport -31 F 0715 AM 01/31 AWOS Rockford Airport -31 F 0714 AM 01/31 ASOS NEW RECORD Rochelle -30 F 0600 AM 01/31 COOP 2nd Coldest West Chicago - DuPage Arpt. -29 F 0552 AM 01/31 ASOS Barrington -28 F 0800 AM 01/31 COOP NEW RECORD Paw Paw 2S -27 F 0700 AM 01/30 COOP 4th Coldest Mundelein 4 WSW -26 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP NEW RECORD Ottawa - Buffalo Rock SP -26 F 0845 AM 01/30 COOP DeKalb -26 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP 2nd Coldest McHenry Lock and Dam -26 F 0800 AM 01/30 COOP 2nd Coldest Aurora -25 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP 2nd Coldest Batavia -25 F 0600 AM 01/31 COOP DeKalb Airport -25 F 0635 AM 01/31 AWOS Elgin -25 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP 2nd Coldest Lansing Airport -24 F 0715 AM 01/31 AWOS Peru Airport -24 F 0755 AM 01/30 AWOS Morris Airport -23 F 0815 AM 01/30 AWOS Morris 1NW -23 F 0800 AM 01/30 COOP 2nd Coldest Joliet Airport -23 F 0355 AM 01/31 AWOS Romeoville - Lewis Airport -23 F 0815 AM 01/30 AWOS Romeoville - NWS Chicago -23 F 1200 AM 01/31 NWS 2nd Coldest Chicago OHare -23 F 0751 AM 01/30 ASOS 5th Coldest Waukegan Airport -23 F 0655 AM 01/31 ASOS Waukegan Harbor -23 F 0840 AM 01/30 NWS-GLOS Park Forest -23 F 0800 AM 01/31 COOP 3rd Coldest Dwight -22 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP NEW RECORD Chicago Midway -22 F 1153 AM 01/30 ASOS Midway 3 SW COOP -22 F 0600 AM 01/31 COOP 2nd Coldest Morris 1 NW -22 F 0800 AM 01/31 COOP Joliet Lock and Dam -22 F 0600 AM 01/31 COOP 4th Coldest Kankakee Waste Water -22 F 0700 AM 01/30 COOP 5th Coldest Kankakee Airport -21 F 0755 AM 01/30 AWOS Pontiac Airport -21 F 0815 AM 01/30 AWOS Wheeling - Chicago Exec. Arp -21 F 0852 AM 01/30 ASOS Paxton 2WSW -21 F 0630 AM 01/31 COOP 3rd Coldest Marseilles Lock and Dam -21 F 0600 AM 01/30 COOP 5th Coldest Chicago Crib -20 F 0910 AM 01/30 MARITIME Gary Airport -20 F 1045 AM 01/30 AWOS Rensselaer -20 F 0730 AM 01/31 COOP Streator -20 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP 2 NW Watseka -20 F 0700 AM 01/31 COOP Michigan City C-man -19 F 0710 AM 01/31 MARITIME Valparaiso Airport -19 F 0656 AM 01/30 ASOS Rensselaer Airport -18 F 0855 AM 01/30 AWOS Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
