Bundled up with a ski mask, scarf and hat a man braves the cold in Mount Prospect during February of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
The winter of 1983-84 was one for the record books with cold temperatures, wind chills and snowfall.
The normal average seasonal winter temperature in the Chicago area is 26.4 degrees and the average temperature that season was 21.8 degrees. That doesn't seem like a big difference and it may not be but when you take into account that on Dec. 24, 1983, the Chicago area recorded its coldest Christmas Eve in history with a low temperature of 25 degrees below zero. That record cold Christmas Eve ranked as the third-coldest day in Chicago history over all, tying with Jan. 16, 1982. The frigid temperatures that Christmas Eve were made worse with the 29 mph winds to make for a lowest recorded wind chill in Chicago history with a wind chill of 82 degrees below zero.
Chicago area residents had more than severe cold to deal with that winter - it was also a snowy one. The official snowfall total for the Chicago area in the winter of 1983-1984 was 35.6 inches. That winter ranks as the 30th snowiest winter since record-keeping started back in 1884.
The National Weather Service considers a winter season to be December, January and February.
A woman covers her ears as she walks in the cold in Mount Prospect during February of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
Icicles hang from the eves of a building in February of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
A woman braves the cold as she walks along the road in Rolling Meadows in December of 1983,
Daily Herald photo, 1983
A carpenter wears a fur coat as he performs work in Palatine December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
A front-end loader breaks up some ice that caused some flooding in Mount Prospect in December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
A front-end loader breaks up some ice that caused some flooding in Mount Prospect in December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
Snow covered picnic tables outside the pool in Buffalo Grove in January of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
Milkweed pods are silhouetted against the snow in Buffalo Grove in January of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
A couple women brave the cold as they walk along Michigan Ave in Chicago near the historic water tower in December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
The warm breath of a man can be seen in the bitter cold in Rolling Meadows in February of 1984.
Daily Herald photo 1984
The exhaust can easily be seen coming from cars in traffic in December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
Icicles hang from a building in Schaumburg in January of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
A pair brave the cold and wind in Schaumburg in December of 1983
Daily Herald photo, 1983
A woman walks to her car at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg in December of 1983
Daily Herald photo, 1983
The exhaust can easily be seen coming from cars in driving along Lee Street in December of 1983.
Daily Herald photo, 1983
The exhaust can easily be seen coming from cars in driving during January of 1984 in Schaumburg near Summit Drive.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
A girl throws powdery cold snow in the air during January of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984
A couple of cross-country skiers brave the cold and take to the woods during January of 1984.
Daily Herald photo, 1984