Winter has come early to the Chicago area this weekend, with the coldest daytime temperatures since February and a chance of snow showers or snow through Sunday evening, according to forecasts.
High temperatures across the area were only in the high teens or low 20s, well below typical daytime highs of mid-30s for early December, meteorologists said.
High temperatures across the area were only in the high teens or low 20s, well below typical daytime highs of mid-30s for early December, meteorologists said.
The National Weather Service's hazardous weather outlook for north central Illinois, northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois including Cook, DuPage, Lake and McHenry counties includes a chance of lake effect snow showers that could produce half an inch of accumulation in northeast Cook and eastern Lake counties into Sunday.
The weather service predicts a chance of snow Sunday afternoon and evening in northeast Illinois, with accumulations of one to three inches possible, particularly north of the Interstate 88 corridor. The snow could change to freezing drizzle before the precipitation ends Sunday night, the weather service said.
The work week could begin with bitter cold: wind chills could drop to 15 degrees below zero in some areas Monday night into Tuesday. That could make for a very chilly "Monday Night Football" game between the Bears and Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field.
On Saturday, the frigid temperatures didn't deter holiday shoppers in Chicago. After ducking inside a Michigan Avenue mall, 10-year-old Olivia Cagle quickly rubbed her gloved hands on her pants, trying to get warm.
"I can't feel my legs," she told her mother, Heidi Anderson, after walking nearly two miles from Union Station to The Shops at North Bridge.
The pair had traveled from Mequon, Wis., with Anderson's boyfriend, Ted Hagen, his children and others for a day of Christmas shopping. The unseasonably cold temperatures didn't stop the group from taking their planned outing.
"We can't let weather ruin it," Hagen said.
That mentality seemed common among shoppers determined to enjoy the city, even if some were a bit unprepared.
Laura Oyer and Gretchen Morningstar of Goshen, Ind., came with their husbands for the weekend. Among the first purchases? A hat for Oyer's husband and a coat for Morningstar's husband after realizing that what they had packed wouldn't cut it.
"We planned this awhile ago, and then we saw the forecast," Morningstar said. "We said we'd just deal with it. Then you step outside."
For some, the cold just enhanced the holiday season.
Shopper Janet Goodwin, 57, and her daughters Sterling Goodwin, 30, and Sara Goodwin, 27, came from Little Rock, Ark., for a girls' weekend trip. They planned the trip to a cold-weather location on purpose, not realizing their part of the country would have ice storms.
"We wanted to feel that Christmas weather," Janet Goodwin said. "We came prepared."
At the Chicago Park District's Polar Adventure Days on Northerly Island, visitors didn't seem fazed by the cold, but dressed warmly, held steaming cups of cocoa and were able to take a break from the cold inside a building. The indoor-outdoor event featured dog sledding demonstrations and other activities for children.
"It's not that bad when you're in the sun," said Patty Manzano of the Lakeview neighborhood, who brought her husband, 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.
The weather service predicts a chance of snow Sunday afternoon and evening in northeast Illinois, with accumulations of one to three inches possible, particularly north of the Interstate 88 corridor. The snow could change to freezing drizzle before the precipitation ends Sunday night, the weather service said.
The work week could begin with bitter cold: wind chills could drop to 15 degrees below zero in some areas Monday night into Tuesday. That could make for a very chilly "Monday Night Football" game between the Bears and Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field.
On Saturday, the frigid temperatures didn't deter holiday shoppers in Chicago. After ducking inside a Michigan Avenue mall, 10-year-old Olivia Cagle quickly rubbed her gloved hands on her pants, trying to get warm.
"I can't feel my legs," she told her mother, Heidi Anderson, after walking nearly two miles from Union Station to The Shops at North Bridge.
The pair had traveled from Mequon, Wis., with Anderson's boyfriend, Ted Hagen, his children and others for a day of Christmas shopping. The unseasonably cold temperatures didn't stop the group from taking their planned outing.
"We can't let weather ruin it," Hagen said.
That mentality seemed common among shoppers determined to enjoy the city, even if some were a bit unprepared.
Laura Oyer and Gretchen Morningstar of Goshen, Ind., came with their husbands for the weekend. Among the first purchases? A hat for Oyer's husband and a coat for Morningstar's husband after realizing that what they had packed wouldn't cut it.
"We planned this awhile ago, and then we saw the forecast," Morningstar said. "We said we'd just deal with it. Then you step outside."
For some, the cold just enhanced the holiday season.
Shopper Janet Goodwin, 57, and her daughters Sterling Goodwin, 30, and Sara Goodwin, 27, came from Little Rock, Ark., for a girls' weekend trip. They planned the trip to a cold-weather location on purpose, not realizing their part of the country would have ice storms.
"We wanted to feel that Christmas weather," Janet Goodwin said. "We came prepared."
At the Chicago Park District's Polar Adventure Days on Northerly Island, visitors didn't seem fazed by the cold, but dressed warmly, held steaming cups of cocoa and were able to take a break from the cold inside a building. The indoor-outdoor event featured dog sledding demonstrations and other activities for children.
"It's not that bad when you're in the sun," said Patty Manzano of the Lakeview neighborhood, who brought her husband, 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.
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