st time since 2015 that DePaul has closed the University due to extreme weather. Students had both Wednesday and Thursday off to enjoy as much Netflix as possible while trying to figure out which restaurants were still delivering food.

nd coldest day in Chicago’s history. With the average temperature being only -17 degrees, December 23, 1983, was colder with an average of -18 degrees. We were so close, yet so far away.

4 degrees was the temperature of the water of Lake Michigan on Wednesday. Steam rose off of the water due to the temperature difference of the water and air. The effect made the lake look like it was boiling, but I can promise you it was not.

0 degrees. That was the temperature on Saturday in Chicago–a full 50 degree difference from Wednesday. It almost felt like shorts weather for the people of Chicago.

CTA buses were dispatched as a place for homeless people to get out of the cold on Wednesday. Although not a huge number, we hope that it helped a few people stay out of the cold.

minutes. You could get frostbite on exposed skin Wednesday in only six minutes. Hopefully, everyone bundled up when they decided to make a food run to 7/11.

0 homeless people were offered paid hotel rooms by a good Samaritan. After propane tanks were confiscated from a camp where they were staying, the tab was picked up so that the homeless could survive the cold. Many other people around Chicago did their best to help out people in need Wednesday.

2 degrees. That is Chicago’s average high temperature in the month of July. As we all struggle with the freezing temperatures, keep your chin up, as each day is one day closer to warm weather.

.3 million people visit Navy Pier every year, making it the most popular tourist attraction in Chicago. However, everyone was turned away on Wednesday, as the whole building was closed due to the extreme cold.

degrees below zero was the highest the temperature Chicago reached on Wednesday. This is still a lower temperature than southern Palmer Land in Antarctica. Chicagoans went through the same temperature struggles as the scientist in the most remote area on earth.

2 degrees. That was the world’s highest temperature on Wednesday in the small Australian town of Lajamanu. Would you trade the extreme cold for the extreme heat? I think most Chicagoans would jump at the opportunity to be sweating in the Australian Outback.

points. This is how much DePaul Men’s Basketball lost by to Villanova on Wednesday night. They played in front of a crowd of 5,002 at Wintrust Arena. Even sub-zero temperatures can’t stop the loyal DePaul fans from making the trek to see their Blue Demons.

25.00 dollars. This is the price of the Elrose Parka from Canada Goose. It is designed to withstand temperatures of -15 degrees. All of the people who bought these crazy-expensive jackets can finally say that they are getting their money’s worth.

 degrees below zero was the highest the temperature reached on Mars Wednesday. Just imagine: you could be more comfortable on the surface of Mars than the streets of Chicago.

videos I saw on Twitter of people throwing boiling water into the air to make snow. Whenever the temperature reaches a certain point, you can be sure that home science experiments will be tried.

text messages that I received from my mother telling me to stay inside so I don’t die. There was no reason to leave the house, but I feel like most people wanted to give it a try just to see if they could survive.

 degrees below zero is the North Pole’s average low in January. The only animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo that were actually enjoying the weather were the polar bears.

00 flights canceled at Chicago airports. Even if you wanted to hop on a flight and get to a warmer place, Chicago made it pretty difficult.

universities that closed until Friday in Illinois. DePaul students weren’t the only lucky college students to get the days off. All around the city, students hunkered down and tried their best to catch up in their classes.

2 thousand favorites. That is how many favorites President Trump accumulated on a tweet where he said, “What the hell is going on with Global Warming? Please come back fast, we need you!”

 mph wind speed. The wind was whipping around Chicago on Wednesday adding to the frigid temperatures. The Windy City nickname finally made some sense to the residents of Chicago.

 degrees below zero. When the temperature gets this cold a phenomenon called frost quakes can happen. People all around Chicago on Wednesday reported that the ground was shaking. This happens when the soil rapidly freezes and burst which cause a small but noticeable shaking in the ground.

 degrees below zero was the lowest the temperature reached in Chicago on Wednesday. This doesn’t include the fact that the wind chill made places in Chicago feel close to -43 degrees. We all survived the polar vortex of 2019. Hopefully our prize will be warmer weather in the future.