PlainHazard

Illinois extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 102 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,679 extreme cold records in Illinois from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 94 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 1, 2007 extreme cold/wind chill in Cook County: 12 deaths across 3 records. Illinois ranks 4th of 51 states and territories by count and 10th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Illinois, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
2,6791996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
94average
Deaths
2116 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$48Mas filed
Busiest year
2007237 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in Illinois?

Illinois averages about 94 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 4th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (237). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Illinois records 483 extreme cold records since 1996, 10th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Illinois have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Hardin County leads Illinois: 71 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 400.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cook County has the most cold records (134 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Hardin County 400.3 (71)
  2. Edwards County 346.2 (111)
  3. Wabash County 340.3 (76)
  4. Pulaski County 326.2 (65)
  5. Alexander County 284.6 (67)
  6. Massac County 265.7 (63)
  7. Gallatin County 235.3 (76)
  8. Johnson County 221.1 (76)
  9. Saline County 207.9 (111)
  10. Franklin County 203.0 (117)
  11. Pope County 195.2 (72)
  12. Union County 191.1 (110)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in Illinois?

47% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (930 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 930 · Feb 325 · Mar 26 · Apr 591 · May 66 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 355 · Nov 118 · Dec 268 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Illinois?

Illinois: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2007-02-01 to 2007-02-03; the totals are the episode's. High temperatures were below freezing for the first 18 days of the month. February 4th and 5th were the coldest with high temperatures at Chicago Ohare Airport of only 2 above on the 4th and 5 above on the 5th. The coldest low temperature at Chicago Ohare Airport occurred on the morning of the 5th, 10 degrees below ... 12 0 –
2006-12-02 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook After the winter storm brought several inches of snow to northern Illinois, cold temperatures settled across the area. Low temperatures on the morning of the 3rd, 4th and 5th were in the single digits. A brief warm-up on the 6th, with low temperatures again in the single digits on the 7th and 8th. Seven people died ... 7 5 –
2010-12-05 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Three people died from cold exposure in Cook County on December 5th and 6th including a 34 year old man in Chicago; a 69 year old man in Hanover Park and a 50 year old woman in Palos Park. Low temperatures ranged in the lower teens and single digits from December 5th through December 7th. A 61 year old homeless man ... 5 0 –
2008-12-21 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook Very cold air spread across northern Illinois starting on December 21st and continuing through December 25th. Low temperatures dropped to 5 below to 10 below zero on the 21st and 22nd, and were in the low single digits on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. Five people died due to cold exposure, two in Chicago, one in Des ... 5 0 –
2008-01-22 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook Very cold air moved across northern Illinois during the middle of January. Low temperatures at Chicago O'Hare Airport reached -4 on the 24th and -5 on the 25th. Five people died due to cold exposure. 5 0 –
2014-01-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook An extremely cold arctic airmass settled over northern Illinois with minimum observed wind chills falling into the -40°F to -50°F range area-wide. Some of the coldest wind chill reports include Steward at -50°F; Aurora at -47°F; Rochelle at -47°F; DuPage at -46°F; Romeoville at -46°F; Rockford at -46°F; and O'Hare ... 4 0 –
2009-12-29 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2009-12-29 to 2009-12-30; the totals are the episode's. A 55 year old woman died due to cold exposure on Kolmar Street in Chicago on December 29th. Low temperatures were in the single digits. A 58 year old man died from cold exposure in Mount Vernon Park on Aberdeen Street in Chicago on December 31st. Low temperatures were in the single digits. A 19 year old man left his ... 4 0 –
2010-01-01 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Very cold air spread across northern Illinois in early January with high temperatures in the teens and low temperatures in the single digits. The coldest low temperature was 1 degree below zero at O'Hare Airport, which was measured on the morning of January 3rd. An 87 year old female died on Prater Street in Northlake ... 4 0 –
2005-12-18 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook Very cold temperatures continued into the middle of December. Low temperatures dropped into the single digits for 5 days in a row, with the morning of December 19th the coldest of the entire month, with a low of one degree below zero. Three people in Chicago died from the cold weather. A fourth woman died in her home ... 4 0 –
2015-01-12 Cold/Wind ChillCook County · forecast zone Cook Three homeless men were found dead in an abandoned building in Avondale from hypothermia due to cold exposure. The low temperature at O'Hare that day was 15°F. 3 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Illinois

Illinois: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2005-05-03 Frost/FreezeMcDonough County · forecast zone McDonough One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $40M
2007-04-08 Frost/FreezeJohnson County · forecast zone Johnson One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $7.7M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Illinois?

Illinois's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: Illinois and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeIllinoisUnited StatesIllinois's share
1996-992055,5393.7%
2000s89014,7926.0%
2010s79618,1624.4%
2020-2678815,3295.1%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Illinois

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillWabash County · forecast zone Wabash 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillJackson County · forecast zone Jackson 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillJohnson County · forecast zone Johnson 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillUnion County · forecast zone Union 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillSaline County · forecast zone Saline 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillWilliamson County · forecast zone Williamson 0 0 –
2026-01-30 Cold/Wind ChillJackson County · forecast zone Jackson 0 0 –
2026-01-30 Cold/Wind ChillWhite County · forecast zone White 0 0 –
2026-01-30 Cold/Wind ChillHamilton County · forecast zone Hamilton 0 0 –
2026-01-30 Cold/Wind ChillFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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