Welcome to 2018 -- the new year has established itself with the coldest New Year's Day in Chicago history. With a high of just +1 we set a new record low maximum temp, and combined with the low of -9 we have a new record low average temperature. (Both records were previously set at +5 and -2.5, respectively, in 1969.)
So yeah, this is incredible. We were more than 30 degrees below average today; temperatures roughly follow the normal distribution so it's fair to think about the equivalent "warmth" for today that would put us in the mid-60s.
This outbreak is both impressive and immense. The cold is actually worse just to our west (-20F this morning in Omaha) and it extends all the way to Texas (17 in Dallas this morning, with a high in the 20s), the Gulf Coast, Atlanta (18F/29F), and the Northeast (New York saw 7F/19F). By area, two-thirds of the Lower 48 had a high below 32F today. That is amazing. And >70 million Americans woke up in 2018 with subzero temps. That is also amazing.
We are going to be in the deep freeze all week, albeit with slightly more moderate temps (10-20 degrees warmer than today). There is nothing impressive on the horizon for snow but it wouldn't take much to get a few inches given the temps.
By Sunday we may be all the way up to normal but we'll have to see how the following week plays out.
Happy new year!
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