The first arctic blast of winter socked Chicago on Tuesday, driving thousands into city shelters, stalling cars and prompting a warning from Mayor Daley on the hazards of using stoves or space heaters to ward off the cold.
Urging tenants to call 311 if temperatures in their residences fall below 63 at night or 68 during the day, Daley said, “A visit from the Buildings Department is better than one from the Fire Department.”
Arctic air from Canada pushed the temperature to 5 degrees below zero in some suburbs with windchills of 20 below across much of the area Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
A slow warming trend was forecast to begin Wednesday with a high in the lower 20s and a nighttime low in the teens.
At least two deaths were being investigated as cold-related Tuesday.
Downtown, people walked with hastened gaits and heads down, and most were well-equipped for the chill.
A few, however, were not.
“I didn’t think it would get this cold this fast,” said Ryan Kelley, of Ft. Myers, Fla., as he hustled down Michigan Avenue with no gloves or hat, his face a bright pink.
Vanessa Gorr of Arlington Heights was very comfortable in the cold as she worked in her full-length beaver coat in front of Elan Furs, trying to coax people inside.
Despite the weather, she said business was a little slow.
“It’s just too cold,” she said. “People don’t want to go out.”
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Edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com)
