How cold did it get between December 22nd-27th 1983 in Chicago?

Answer 1

Let me put it this way: there was not even a hint of warm.

Short answer -26F for a low, about -12F for a high.

December 24, 1983 was extremely cold throughout most of the United States. Chicago, and throughout Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakota, and Nebraska had strong winds of 60 mph and temperatures below -20 Fahrenheit. It didn't even make it to -10 during the daytime. The coldest windchills on record in the upper midwest occurred on this day. That day, and Christmas morning saw the coldest December temperatures on record throughout much of the U.S.

There was a record high pressure area over eastern Montana that brought down the arctic air with a vengeance. Montana towns and cities saw temperatures down to -64 (actual temperatures, not windchill). Most of the entire U.S. had temperatures well below freezing.

I lived in a fairly new apartment at the time. It was next to a golf course and caught the wind full on. The temperature was about 50 degrees. The heat was working properly, but the -25 outside temperatures and the 60 mph wind overwhelmed it.