This week's Thanksgiving weather in Chicago has brought a bitter cold forecast as the drop in temperatures is expected to continue into the weekend.
According to NBC 5 Chicago meteorologist Alicia Roman temperatures on Tuesday across the Chicago area began to drop in the 20s with a wind chill of just 11 and continued into the holiday. On Thanksgiving Day, high temperatures in the Chicago area were in the mid-to-upper 30s. After that, colder air and more wind chills are on the way and is expected to continue for the coming days, with highs ranging from 28 to 31 degrees and lows ranging from 18 to 25 degrees.
"A taste of winter this weekend," Roman said Thursday, as temperatures are dropping into the 20s on Friday.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the forecast high for Friday is 25 degrees as the wind chill earlier dropped to single digits. In addition, single digit wind chills will also continue over the weekend and temperatures will remain chilly into early next week, the NWS said.
Roman said low temperatures would be in the teens on Saturday morning, with a "feels-like" temperature of just 10 degrees.
This comes as this week's weather in Chicago has been significantly cooler than the five-year average, with an average temperature of 27 degrees, which is 22 percent below the five-year average of 35 degrees.
ABC7 Chicago meteorologist Larry Mowry noted on Friday the upcoming colder temperatures and said, "We will soon see some of the coldest air we've seen in months."
In response to the colder temperatures, more than 150 warming centers across the city have opened Friday morning, according to the Chicago Sun-Times as many people were seen bundled up this holiday week. Several of the same warming centers will also be open over the weekend and on Monday.
Newsweek has reached out to Chicago's Emergency Management via email for comment.
This comes as lake effect snow showers could impact areas near northwest Indiana, particularly along I-65 and I-80/94.
Lake effect snow is a weather phenomenon that occurs when cold, dry air moves over a large, warmer body of water, such as the Great Lakes. This snow can be intense and concentrated in narrow bands, leading to significant snowfall in some areas while other nearby regions may see little to no snow.
While temperatures are expected to remain in the 20s through Sunday, Roman added the skies will see a bit of sunshine.
"Very cold air moving in, but at least we'll have some sunshine," she said Thursday, as sunnier days are expected this weekend as Monday will be mostly sunny with highs in the low 30s.
However, another cold front is expected on Tuesday, with partly sunny skies and highs around freezing, but temperatures will warm slightly next Thursday and Friday, reaching highs near 40.