"That snow, it's going to arrive between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.," ABC7 Meteorologist Phil Schwarz said. The most accumulation will take place in the north suburbs. "A few snow showers during Christmas Day are possible, but most of the accumulating will be over early Wednesday morning.
Bitter cold descends on Chicago
"It's piercing when it's this cold. This morning, walking in at 5:45, my face was getting beat by the weather," Philip Jones said on Tuesday. The pipe-fitter got lucky today; he had an indoor job.
But Mike Davis and Tamiyer Blakely were working the drive-thru at Portillo's all day long.
"I got on two coats two hoodies, my long johns and a sweater," Davis said. "They looks out for us. They give us hand warmers, they support these snow pants. They look out for us."
"Even if it's cold, negative 20, have to smile have to keep a smile on your face or else you will not have a good day," Blakely said.
Shoppers brave freezing cold for last-minute bargains
Temperatures reached only as high as 14-degrees on Tuesday, but that didn't deter last-minute shoppers on Michigan Avenue who need to get gifts under the tree Christmas Eve.
"Procrastinating, procrastinating-- but definitely moving forward as expeditiously as we can," Rick Williams said. Williams is one of many shoppers who are making the mad dash with Christmas hours away.
"I'm freezing. I'm a last minute shopper. Waited till Christmas Eve," Amy Garmon said. "I am regretting it, but there are still some good sales to be had."
The last minute rush is on. While several stores have remained open around the clock since Friday to give folks as many opportunities to shop as humanly possible there are always those who seem to relish Christmas Eve shopping.
"I'm a last minute shopper. I love the rush," Angie Hill said.
While most shops along Michigan Avenue and in the malls will close their doors today by 6 p.m., Target and Kmart stores are among those remaining open later, closing at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
Many shoppers said bargain hunting is the main reason they delay.
"I'm going to buy some monster beads for my niece and I bought my mother-in-law and my father-in-law some clothes off the clearance rack at Macys," Wendy Embry, shopper, said.
"Some of the stores now are 40- to 60- percent off because it's last minute. So we're definitely finding bargains as we move along," Williams said.
"There's a lot that comes with it. It's not just the adrenaline rush if being able to run around the stores, you also get some good deals in there," Brennan Besser, shopper, said.
At a very crowded Best Buy, sale items were everywhere.
"I have somebody who likes video games, so I thought I'd try and pick up one. Unfortunately, I don't know which are the good ones, so I have to look on my phone to figure it out," David Gabriel, shopper, said.
