Minus 40 Wind Chill, 50 MPH Winds Create Dangerous Travel In IL

ILLINOIS — The snow may have ended, but bitterly cold temperatures and high wind gusts are still causing difficult travel conditions across Illinois. The entire Chicago area remains under a winter weather warning until 6 a.m. on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service said that gusts of 40 to 50 mph will create blowing and drifting snow, especially in open areas. The blowing snow could result in near white-out conditions in rural and open areas, and snow will drift over north to south roads, resulting in snow-covered roads.

Power outages are also possible due to the strong winds.

Wind chills as low as 30 to 40 below zero are possible through Friday night, the weather service said. Frostbite can happen in as little as 10 minutes on exposed skin at those temperatures.

The cold stretch will continue through the weekend, as a high of 11 is expected on Saturday and a high of 14 on Sunday, according to the weather service. Blowing snow will continue on Saturday, and temps on Saturday night could get down to 3 below zero.

AccuWeather said it will be "brisk and bitterly cold" on Sunday, and could be one of the coldest Christmases in years.

There is also a chance of snow late Sunday into Monday, which could bring accumulation and another round of hazardous travel conditions, the weather service said.

Temperatures are expected to warm into next week, and highs in the 40s or even hitting 50 degrees are possible late week, the weather service said. If temperatures reach 50 degrees next week, it could feel 90 degrees warmer than it does with the current wind chills of 40 below zero, the National Weather Service said.