This winter season has been far from ordinary, with snow and cold stretches moving through Illinois. January has begun and the temperatures have continued to drop. As of today, January 30, the weather is expected to reach record-breaking temperatures as low as -57 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill.

Since the beginning of the season, there have been 19 deaths in Cook County due to the cold weather. It is not just the homeless who have nowhere to go that are losing their lives in this cold, it is people of all ages. A girl at the age of 12 was playing in her snow fort when it collapsed on top of her and she suffocated. The most recent death was a man in his 50’s who was found lying face down in a doorway. His cause of death was heart disease and exposure to the cold.

“I think that is incredibly sad and absolutely terrible,” senior Miranda Hopkins said. “I wish for people to be more cautious and take greater responsibility for themselves in this surreal weather.”

According to the Chicago-Sun Times, 47 deaths last season were due to exposure to cold weather, this is a huge issue and many of them are because of the cold air attacking the heart, causing it to shut down.

“I think it is a very serious danger and that people need to prepare for the cold better by dressing warmer,” senior Clayton Ushkow said.

The cold is a reigning terror and although winter will not last forever, the next few days are set to be record breakers. Dress warm and stay away from the outdoors as much as possible. At this temperature, it only takes five minutes of exposure for extremities to become frostbitten.