Deep Freeze Continues: It Hasn't Been This Cold on Jan. 6 Since 1988

It's officially cold. 

Chicago set a record low temperature for this date (Jan. 6) with a frigid -16 degrees, which was observed Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. That breaks the former record for this date of -14 degrees set in 1894 and 1988. The daytime temperature today will likely be the coldest since January 18, 1994. 

It's even colder in Rockford as it reached -18 degrees this morning but the city has not yet broken a record. The lowest temperature reached on Jan. 6 in Rockford was -19 degrees, which was set in 1988. 

In Elmhurst, the lowest temperature reached so far today was -16 degrees at 7:41 a.m. A wind chill value of -41 degrees was recorded at the same time, according to the National Weather Service. 

The National Weather Service reports that the coldest airmass in nearly 20 years arrived Monday morning and is expected to peak slowly. Temperatures may not rise to above zero from Sunday night through sometime on Tuesday, if they do so at all. 

This airmass will be accompanied by winds between 15 and 30 mph, resulting in dangerously low wind chill values between 30 and 50 degrees below zero. The worst conditions were expected to hit Sunday night through Monday afternoon. 

Temperatures and wind chills this cold can easily result in exposed skin freezing within minutes and rapid onset of hypothermia, according to the National Weather Service.