Frigid temps to continue with more cold coming later in week, schools go to e-learning

Brutally cold temperatures will remain in Springfield through Tuesday, with another weather pattern likely to bring continued cold to central Illinois later this week. Several schools have initiated e-learning days due to the cold.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln reported that as of 9:52 a.m. Monday, temperatures at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport were at 3 degrees below zero, with wind chills at 17 degrees below zero, still dangerously cold, but not as cold as it had been Sunday morning, when temperatures nearly hit all-time lows at 12 below zero.

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Alex Erwin, a meteorologist with NWS, said that temperatures were slightly warmer than they had been Saturday night into Sunday, with temperatures likely to be above zero degrees as the day progresses.

"Today, we do expect temperatures to go above zero degrees, but not by much," Erwin said.

A wind chill warning is currently in effect for large portions of central Illinois, including Sangamon County, until noon Tuesday, as high temperatures are only expected to hit 10 degrees in Springfield that day. Wind chills in the morning could get as low as 22 degrees below zero, which may make decisions on if school is in session difficult for some districts.

The cold air comes on the back of a low-pressure system that brought a wintry mix of rain and snow over the weekend, with a half-inch of snow falling in Springfield on Saturday. Erwin said that a strong cold front carried northwest winds from Canada, bringing forth continued cold over multiple days.

"A strong cold front went through with northwest winds, allowing Arctic air to pour in from Canada," Erwin said. "That's really set the stage for a prolonged cold event."

Another mild snowfall is expected this afternoon, with just over half-an-inch expected for Springfield as a result.

"We do have precipitation chances increasing this afternoon, up to 50% late this evening," Erwin said. "In terms of snow amounts, (we're) not expecting much, maybe a half-an-inch for most areas, in isolated areas up to one inch."

Cold to hang around later in week

Conditions will warm up on Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures in the mid-20s, but Erwin said that another system will arrive late Thursday that will bring with it single-digit lows and falling wind chills.

"We could see wind chills dropping to near 20 degrees below zero again Friday into Saturday," Erwin said.

Another chance of snow is possible Wednesday night and Thursday night, but any predictions on accumulation remain up in the air.

School closures

Springfield Public Schools District #186 announced late Monday that they would have an e-learning day Tuesday, one of several local school districts to announce that students would not attend in-person.

The district cited the frigid morning temperatures and a water main break at Jefferson Middle School as among the reasons why they went remote for the day. Students will have five hours of instruction, with lessons posted on the district's Canvas learning portal.

The district does anticipate being back to full in-person learning Wednesday.

Taylorville CUSD #3 and Greenview CUSD #200 also announced late Monday that they will have an e-learning day in lieu of in-person classes.

Taylorville plans to have a similar set up to that of Springfield, with five hours of learning and lessons posted on the district's website.

Extracurricular activities, such as middle school boys basketball against Mt. Zion and middle school wrestling in Monticello, are slated to go on as scheduled.

Greenview says that parents will be alerted as to what their students will be working on Tuesday. No announcements have been made yet regarding extracurriculars.

Temperatures in Taylorville, according to NWS, are forecast to only hit 9 degrees Tuesday, with wind chills possibly going as low as 24 degrees below zero. In Greenview, located in Menard County, temperatures are only slated to reach 7 degrees, with wind chills down to 25 degrees below zero.

Ball-Chatham schools will also use Tuesday as an e-learning day.

Warming centers open for business

Many of the city's warming centers remain open and ready to serve anyone coming in from the cold. For instance, Eldon Davis, director of operations for the Washington Street Mission, said that while they ensured that they opened early for the afternoon crowd to get inside and get warm, not much was different about this day.

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"It looks the way it usually looks," Davis said. "The only thing we've done different, we usually close down for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. We closed for an hour today and opened up an hour early to get them back in. (We) sent them over to (St. John's) Breadline to get them a hot meal, then got them back in to keep them sheltered."

The city's warming centers are as follows:

Municipal Center East (800 East Monroe Street): Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed for MLK Day.

Municipal Center West (300 South 7th Street): Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed for MLK Day.

Lincoln Library (326 South 7th Street): Open Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Closed for MLK Day.

Office of Community Relations (1450 Groth Street): Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Closed for MLK Day.

Helping Hands (2200 Shale Street): Overnight shelter open daily, 5 p.m.-7 a.m.; warming center open 24 hours; day services available daily from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Salvation Army Main Campus (1600 Clearlake Avenue): Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Washington Street Mission (408 North 4th Street): Open Monday-Friday, 7:30-10:30 a.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m.; Saturday 8-10 a.m. Closed on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

St. John's Breadline (430 North 5th Street): Open Monday-Friday, 8-9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; weekends and holidays, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

The city recommends that people who find anyone out in the cold get them in contact with Helping Hands. More information can be found by calling the shelter at (217) 522-0048, extension 150.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: More cold to come later in week as Arctic air persists