Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Pulaski, Illinois

2022-12-22 to 2022-12-24 · Pulaski, Illinois

Wider weather episode

A powerful cold front swept through the region, with wind chills dropping to 20 to 30 below zero. These were the coldest wind chills observed in over 25 years across the region. Paducah, KY dropped down to a -21 wind chill, which was the coldest since February 3, 1996. The most extreme wind chills were from the evening of the 22nd to the morning of the 23rd, but wind chills as late as the morning of December 24th were often below minus 10. Actual air temperatures only reached the single digits above zero on the 23rd, which followed morning lows around 5 below. Peak wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph were observed during this event as well. The peak gust at Carbondale was 44 mph on the evening of the 22nd. The extreme cold was indirectly responsible for a number of structure fires caused by supplemental heating sources, such as space heaters. One hypothermia fatality was reported in Pulaski County. A 67-year-old male residing in a condemned structure with no utilities was found deceased. There were numerous reports of frozen water pipes that burst and flooded homes and other buildings. In Harrisburg, a nursing home roof collapsed due to busted water pipes. An underground water main burst in Carterville, leading officials to issue a boil water advisory for the city. An antique shop burned in Pinckneyville, and firefighters were hampered by low water pressure. On top of the extreme cold, one to three inches of snow fell. The highest amounts were in the Ohio River counties from Cairo to Metropolis and Golconda, where around 3 inches fell. Snowfall amounts elsewhere were from 1 to 2 inches. This snow and the accompanying flash freeze heavily impacted travel across the region. Despite relatively light traffic, there were numerous traffic mishaps.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1064845. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.