It's been another rough winter for Chicagoans. Earlier this month, we were pelted by one of the worst blizzards in the city's history. Today, we hit record cold temperatures for February 19, which was previously set at -7 in 1936.
Before you start crying frozen tears and dive into a numbing whisky bender, take some time to realize that Chicago isn't the coldest place on Earth.
Here are 10 locations that are colder than Chicago right now:
Madison, Wisconsin
Pixabay
Madison hit a whopping high of 4 degrees on Wednesday. Like Chicago, Madison gets nailed by wind blowing off of a lake. Unlike Chicago, the city sits on four different lakes.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Canada
Wikimedia Commons
There has to be something great about this place in eastern Canada since it's named after a joyous fowl. The 7,000 residents there seem to be fine with a season of subzero temperatures.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nic McPhee/Flickr
Minneapolis is one of two cities that decided to set up shop at the tip of the Mississippi River, so it has to have some sort of appeal. I'll take 8 degrees over 4 below any day.
Winnipeg, Canada
Sajeewa Welendagoda/Flickr
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews hails from Winnipeg, and understandably stays away. The temperature there was bottoming out at about -20 last we checked.
Astana, Kazakhstan
Ken and Nyetta/Flickr
The capital of the country that Borat made famous was well below zero on Wednesday. At least it's the world's leading producer of potassium.
Yakutsk, Russia
Maarten Takens/Flickr
Yakutsk is one of the peskiest territories on a Risk board—it's useless as a choke point and acts as a barrier between an attacking army and Kamchatka. Nevertheless, people somehow live there. Today, the high is -5, which is balmy for a city that averages about 30 below in the winter.
Thule Air Base, Greenland
Wikimedia Commons
Thule is the Air Force's northernmost base, which probably means that you have to screw up pretty bad to be sent there. It hit -30 this week at the air base, which is just 550 miles away from the North Pole.
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica
Wikimedia Commons
The research station at the southern tip of the planet sits on a plateau nearly two miles above sea level. Scientests down there are enjoying an Antarctic summer with a temperature of -34.
Eureka, Canada
Wikimedia Commons
Also home to a research station, Eureka is on the northern edge of Canada's most northern territory. Scientists at Eureka track weather patterns, but you don't need to be a genius to know that 40 below is insanely cold.
Verkhoyansk, Russia
Wikimedia Commons
More than 1,300 people live in Verkoyansk, presumably because it's too cold for them to leave. It hit 50 below there on Wednesday. Next time you're about to complain about Chicago's cold winters, think about the poor Verkoyanskans.