Welcome back, everyone! Hope you got everything you wanted for Christmas. We got a lot of Wisconsin meats and cheeses, which should do wonders for our LDL levels when we next have a physical. But it raises the core temperature, which is what we're going to need today. more ›

What is understood doesn't need to be discussed. And, if you happened to go outside yesterday, you know that it was pretty bad from about noon through now. But we will share with you what havoc the weather did wreak yesterday, besides raising the heart rates of people who shoveled their sidewalks and driveways (twice right here) or the kids who, like folks at nearby Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park in Bridgeport, took advantage of the weather to toboggan and sled. more ›

The sun! It does nothing! Be careful if you have to go outside and bundle up accordingly. Highs today will, once again, not get out of the mid-teens and sub-zero wind chills will be pretty common across the area. And the cold weather isn't really going anywhere, either. There will be a mid-week "warm-up" when highs could reach the low-to-mid 20s, but by next weekend another blast of arctic air follows, dropping nightime lows into the sub-zero range, perhaps the season's coldest weather yet. more ›

The Chicago Polar Bear Club took their annual plunge into Lake Michigan yesterday and with temps hovering in the mid-teens, it certainly wasn't a warm swim. Here's hoping all of those involved have warmed up by now. more ›

The folks at LAZ Parking - the company that runs the city's parking meters - got an unpleasant surprise from the cold overnight as it got so cold that some of the meter kiosks stopped working altogether. Crain's reports a city spokesperson told WBBM that the meters should be thawed out and working later (by now, we hope). It's just another weather winter battle for the meter folks as meter checkers have to wipe fresh snow from windshields to check for meter receipts. more ›

One South Side teen is learning the hard way what is and isn't okay to do if you're having to take a cold walk. What is okay? Buying a bigger, warmer coat. What isn't? Carjacking a police officer. According to the Sun-Times, on Sunday night, 17-year-old George E. Floyd, "stole an off-duty female police officer's SUV Sunday after beating her because he was 'very cold' and 'didn't want to walk home.'" He then sped off and led police on a chase that ended a few miles later when he crashed the SUV into a parked car. Floyd's attorney, a public defender, says Floyd's alleged confession is a lie. more ›

It's a lovely early winter's day outside right now. Highs may top out near 40 under sunny skies, but on the other side of sunset is the first potential accumulations of the season for the Chicago area. Snow showers will move in overnight and the area could see as much as two inches, particularly to areas north of the city. But what's really got the weather folks' attention is a mid-week system that could bring several inches and, according to Skilling, blizzard-like conditions. Of course, that's still three days out, so who knows how much the volatile forecast will change? But it seems a taste of arctic air is also on the way for Thursday when highs might not crack 20, so you'd better bundle up for the trek to Sheffield's and our meet-up/canned food drive. You are coming to that, aren't you? more ›

You'd think there would only be so many Empire Strikes Back jokes to be made about our weather but...The snow is quickly piling up again at the Chicagoist office and we'll see an additional couple of inches by the time the day's out. High's will reach the mid-teens and there will be some brisk winds keeping the windchill at subzero levels and blowing snow about. Still, today is balmy compared to what we're about to face: upwards of 60 consecutive hours of temps (including windchill) below zero. Enough to prompt a Wind Chill Warning. Tomorrow could be the first say in 12 years that we don't crack 0 on the mercury, and it all starts tonight as winds pick up to 30 mph and temps drop to -7. more ›

So, not much of a blizzard, eh? The heavy snow and whiteout conditions never quite materialized this time around. However, don't get your hopes up. A new blizzard watch may be issued for tonight for a system coming through tomorrow morning and, blizzard or not, it's going to be freaking cold. Temps will fall throughout the day and will fall to near 0 by the evening rush hour and brisk winds will drop the wind chill to as much as 15 below. Temps will bottom out between 3 and 5 below before they start rising and snow will move in after midnight and will pile up - and blow around - throughout the day Wednesday. more ›

Southwest Side resident Juan Gutierrez was arrested and slapped with a cruelty to animals misdemeanor after leaving two dogs outside in the freezing cold in the 2800 block of W. Cermak. One of the dogs, a Rottweiler, did not survive.

Police arrested Gutierrez at 4:15 p.m. at 1317 W. 18th Pl. after he allegedly left two dogs outside in the cold at the 18th place address for three days and one of them, a Rottweiler, died, police said. The other dog was taken into the care of the city’s Animal Care and Control division.

We like to have a little fun and bitch and moan about the cold, but - sadly - there is an extremely unfortunate downside to the cold. The Cook County medical examiner's office has already reported four deaths that are at least partly related to the winter's cold. While a few of the deaths were primarily caused by other factors, autopsies showed that the deaths were aided by exposure to the cold, including one Tuesday night in which a woman fell outside her home. Please bundle up, everyone. more ›

Damn, this doesn't feel like December. WBEZ just told us it's 8 degrees with a wind chill of -3 and we believe it. Hard to think this will seem balmy in a month. Sunny skies will rule the early part of the day and temps will make their way to the low 20s but winds between 10 and 15 mph could keep that wind chill right at 0. Clouds move in late and we could see some more snow tonight into tomorrow morning with new accumulations around and inch or two, so keep the boots handy and stay warm. more ›

Smokers, meet Winter. Winter, smokers. Timed perfectly with a bone-chilling cold, Illinois's smoking ban went into effect at midnight, Jan. 1. more ›