After tornadoes, storms, weather turns to bitter cold for a day in northern Illinois

A day after tornadoes, storms and near record-warmth in northern Illinois, residents were greeted to sub-zero wind chills and a trace amount of snow Wednesday morning.

The wind chill values were as low as -2 in DeKalb and Crystal Lake, with flurries in the forecast for the morning according to the National Weather Service. The cold shot will only last a day, as temperatures will rebound in the 40s by Thursday and reach the upper 60s by the weekend.

NWS said it would be conducting storm surveys to identify potential tornadoes from Tuesday night. There were numerous reports of tornadoes along the Interstate 80/Interstate 88 corridor on Tuesday evening. Damage was reported near Waubonsee Community College and in Batavia in Kane County. In Hinckley in DeKalb County, a possible tornado was spotted, with report of a tornado touchdown.

Record warmth

According to NWS, Rockford broke its all-time daily record for February and meteorological winter on Monday. That record was then broken again on Tuesday with a recorded high of 78 degrees. Chicago just missed its all-time daily record for February and meteorological winter on Tuesday, coming one degree short with a recorded high of 70 degrees.

The warm temperatures throughout the month, even including Wednesday’s cold shot, means this February will be the warmest February on record for both Rockford and Chicago, according to NWS.