Though an end appears in sight for Chicago's deep freeze -- as temperatures are expected to finally rebound above zero by Tuesday evening -- the frigid weather is still causing many problems, especially for travelers.
The extreme cold caused Chicago Public Schools and many other area school districts to close for a second consecutive day, in addition to Metra canceling 25 trains Tuesday morning after canceling at least 27 others on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
UPDATE: 4 p.m. -- CPS announced Tuesday afternoon that the district will reopen on Wednesday.
Even Metra trains that were not canceled had long delays in many cases. As for the CTA, issues included the northbound Red Line skipping the Chicago Avenue stop for about two hours early Tuesday morning due to a burst water pipe leaving the station's platform icy, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Reports were also widespread of crashes and spinouts on area expressways and black ice was reported on parts of Lake Shore Drive, according to ABC Chicago.
Travelers in the air aren't faring much better. According to DNAinfo Chicago, 750 flights were already canceled through Tuesday morning at O'Hare and another 125 flights are canceled at Midway.
The weather has been responsible for the death of at least four men in the Chicago area who died after shoveling snow, the Sun-Times reports. One of the men, aged 48, died in Chicago, while the other three men -- ages ranging from 57 to 63 -- died in Will County.
The city's Divvy Bikes sharing stations remain closed Tuesday and the city's plows are still working on clearing side and residential streets after initially focusing on Lake Shore Drive and major routes, according to ABC.
Temperatures on Tuesday morning remained very chilly, with readings in the -10 to -12 range and wind chills in the upper 20s to mid 30s below zero, according to the Chicago Weather Center blog. But despite Monday, which broke the record for the coldest Jan. 6 in the city's history, no more weather records are expected to be topped on Tuesday.
For information on the city's warming centers, call 311 or read this list.
Back from his family's vacation to Indonesia on Monday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel shrugged off criticism of his being out of town for much of the stormy weather at a press conference, the Chicago Tribune reports. CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett responded similarly to questions concerning the reversal of the school district's initial decision to remain open amid the extreme cold.
Byrd-Bennett said it was "not quite accurate" to portray the district's decision to close as a last-minute reversal, according to CBS Chicago.
Meanwhile, some relief is in sight: the temperature in Chicago is forecast to rise above zero and into the single digits by the mid-afternoon, NBC Chicago reports. And by Friday, a significant warm-up -- with rain and temperatures above freezing -- is expected after some possible light snowfall.
Some of our favorite photos from the #chiberia hash tag, with more photos of the record-breaking weather below:
Winter Hits St. Joseph Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, USA #polarvortex #ChiBeria pic.twitter.com/ZNj7zwwXl6
— Google Earth Pics (@GoogleEarthPics) January 7, 2014
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