Photos: A look back at the frigid blast of 2014 caused by the 'polar vortex'
From the Deep freeze: Read our coverage of the early 2019 polar vortex in southern Wisconsin series
Here's a look back at what it was like in January 2014 when a historic blast of frigid air courtesy of a weakening in the polar vortex gripped Wisconsin. Temperatures in Madison at that time rose above freezing only nine times.
2014 polar vortex
Kristy Gruley of Madison is bundled against the cold weather while making her way along East Johnson Street on Jan. 3, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Horses and other livestock need to keep warm, too. This group of coat-clad horses forage in a field at Sunrise Stables on Highway 138 outside of Oregon on Jan. 3, 2014. Experts say nutrition requirements for all livestock increase as the temperatures decrease.
2014 polar vortex
Madison resident John Morgan contends with the cold weather in Downtown Madison on Jan. 3, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
2014 polar vortex
Braving frigid temperatures, a man runs through a crosswalk at East Washington Avenue and Pinckney Street in Madison on Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Troy Coogan, left, and Dave Laux, employees of Madison's water utility, shut off a water on the Far East Side on Jan. 6, 2014, after a main break. The utility kept busy, as its five crews dealt with nine water main breaks amid frigid temperatures.
2014 polar vortex
Steam rises from broken ground as Madison Water Utility crews dig around a water main break on Atlas Avenue in Madison on Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Water gushes up from a water main break on Atlas Avenue in Madison on Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
With temperatures well below zero, Wisconsin & Southern Railway workers Stacey Hurda, left, and Brady Whipple work with bare hands to thaw a frozen power switch near John Nolen Drive in Downtown Madison on Jan. 6, 2014. A "polar vortex" of bitterly cold air closed schools and businesses in Madison and elsewhere Monday, and forced another day of closures Tuesday.
2014 polar vortex
Cindy Lundey walks to her job at UW-Madison's Memorial Library on Jan. 6, 2014, braving subzero temperatures and using two cups in an effort to insulate her coffee from the cold. Madison saw a low temperature of 18 degrees below zero on Monday and only managed a high of minus 11.
2014 polar vortex
Anyone who was out and about on Jan. 6, 2014, like this man delivering packages on State Street, had to contend with subzero temperatures and wind chills as low as 43 degrees below zero.
2014 polar vortex
Basketball fans make their way to entrances at the Kohl Center for a game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center on Jan. 5, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Contending with bitterly cold temperatures, Dan Wepking of Alliant Energy works to restore power to a transmission pole near the intersection of County Highways N and T near Sun Prairie after a guide wire gave way Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
A wrapped-up pedestrian walks past Walgreens on the Capitol Square on Jan. 6, 2014. Temperatures in the Madison area dipped to nearly 20 below as a blast of Arctic air moved into the area early Monday.
2014 polar vortex
A pedestrian moving up Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Capitol Square. Temperatures in the Madison area dipped to nearly 20 below zero as a blast of Arctic air moved into the area early Monday, Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Nancy Dvorak of Madison contends with bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills while making her way through Library Mall on the UW-Madison campus Jan. 6, 2014.
2014 polar vortex
Wisconsin and Southern Railway worker Brady Whipple shovels snow from between the rails of tracks along John Nolen Drive in Madison. Residents of the Upper Midwest are contending with bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills Jan. 6, 2014. Workers from the company were on the scene to thaw a frozen power switch, which is used to operate apparatus.
In this Series
Deep freeze: Read our coverage of the early 2019 polar vortex in southern Wisconsin
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Updated
Several days off due to weather creates some complications for Madison-area school districts
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Updated
Deep freeze ending, rain possible this weekend as highs reach upper 40s
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Updated
Dangerous cold nearly over, so — of course — snow returns to forecast in advance of big weekend warm-up
- 47 updates
The area is under a wind chill advisory through 6 p.m. on Tuesday, then a wind chill warning through noon on Thursday as the cold reaches truly life-threatening levels, according to forecasters.
Winter weather has been pounding southern Wisconsin, bringing lots of snow and then extreme cold temperatures. Keep up with the latest news here.
Snow Saturday night into Sunday will have Wisconsin residents shoveling and snow-blowing, and could impact the start of the NFC title game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, according to forecasters.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for southern and central Wisconsin and a winter storm warning for far northern Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Roughly the western half of Wisconsin is under a wind chill advisory from 9 p.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Friday, and more bitter cold moves in on Sunday, according to forecasters.
A southward displacement of the polar vortex will bring waves of cold air to the Midwest and the Northeast over the next week or two.
Forecasters are predicting quick bursts of moderate to heavy snow and a drop in sudden visibility this afternoon and into the evening, especially until 7 p.m.
The storm is expected to become a "bomb cyclone" Thursday evening into Friday, reaching the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane as it moves into the Great Lakes.
The good news is the cold won’t stick around long, with highs expected to rise back above freezing over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Since 2022, Henry Riley has been using publicly available, free data and an algorithm he created to predict weather-related school closures.
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Southern Wisconsin could see a foot of snow or more before a “polar vortex” delivers the harshest cold in years, and perhaps ever, according to forecasters.
All Madison School District schools will be closed Monday, and MSCR, athletics and other evening activities have been canceled.
"We recognize this may be a challenging week for all of us, based on the current forecast" - Madison Schools
After a powerful storm system finishes dumping 6 to 13 inches of snow across the area, life-threatening and potentially record-setting cold will move in and stick around until late this week, according to forecasters.
A winter storm, which eventually became a blizzard, began shortly after midnight Dec. 3, 1990, and by the time it was over late that evening, …
A wicked storm dumped up to 21 inches of snow across southern Wisconsin on Dec. 20, 2012, setting a record for snow on that date in many commu…
Since we're painfully aware of being stuck in the throes of winter, it's hard not to think wistfully of warmer times.
The Great Ice Storm of March 1976 knocked television stations off the air, caused Madison's reservoirs to dry up and left more than 600,000 Wi…
