While many Chicagoans avoided the cold temperatures and bitter wind chills by staying inside, others attempted to make the most of the freeze by busting out their skates.
"There's something really special and unique about being on the pond," said Nathan Zyck, who was playing a game of pickup hockey on the North Pond in Lincoln Park with his brother and some friends. "It's kind of a community thing. Everyone shows up, everyone talks to each other, you meet people."
Temperatures in the single digits and gusty wind conditions made for wind chills well below zero degrees in the Chicago area Monday.
The high at O'Hare International Airport was 6 degrees but winds blowing at 30 to 40 miles-per-hour created wind chills that dropped to minus-24, according to the National Weather Service. O'Hare reached a low of minus-1 degree, marking the first subzero temperatures at the airport since Dec. 14.
Around a dozen people glided around the North Pond in Lincoln Park Monday morning. Skaters could see their breath as they enjoyed the frozen pond, which freezes and un-freezes with the temperatures, according to Lincoln Park resident Jan, who brought her 8-year-old daughter Earthy and declined to give her last name.
"She's trying, she's still learning," Jan said. "Weather-wise, the pond could melt any time when the temperature's up. So we take the opportunity as much as possible."
Zyck and his brother grew up playing hockey through high school and have played in rec leagues in the city. They often organize pickup games.
"I got everyone out here today, I was calling everyone, and then we met these two guys out here," Zyck said. "Just a lot of fun, that's part of pond hockey."
Two childhood friends Christian Moran and Aaron Vanderlinde, both 28, cleared a patch of the pond from snow to create a makeshift hockey rink. The West Loop residents challenged two other men with sticks and pucks to a game, and the four battled each other to a pickup hockey game, using boots to mark the goals.
"It gives a nice freeze," Vanderlinde said about the weather, adding that they had been out on the pond over the weekend, too. "You gotta wait until it's cold."
Moran and Vanderlinde grew up near each other in the western suburbs and much of their friendship was forged on the rink.
"I always say the best way to practice is by playing with people who are better than you," Moran said.
Players have gathered for years at the North Pond, bonding over their love for the sport — and the ability to play it outdoors. Strangers become teammates or friendly competitors and start to look forward to the cold temperatures instead of dread them.
But people should take precautions when outside in below-freezing temperatures, health officials warn. The frosty conditions can lead to hypothermia, frostbite in about 30 minutes, frozen pipes and slippery road conditions.
The bitter cold was expected to continue into Tuesday morning, where wind chills are expected to be between 5 and 15 degrees below zero, the weather service said.
Contributing: Mohammad Samra
