Watch out, football fans — weekend chills will make for a crisp kickoff come Sunday, though not the coldest.
After a week of on-and-off flurries, weather officials say a cold spell is in the forecast for the weekend, with highs in the cool teens for the Chicago Bears’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“Definitely going to a chilly one out there,” said Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chicago.
The Iceman cometh 🥶 pic.twitter.com/4Q5CjYMdDB
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 15, 2026
The cold spurt is expected to set in after a weather system that was poised to move through the Chicago area Thursday night into Friday morning brings a fresh round of snowfall to the region, according to Yack. Most areas were expected to see a dusting to 1 inch of snow, topping off snow accumulations that had been building for the past few days.
As of Thursday afternoon, O’Hare International Airport had picked up about 1.6 inches of snow through the week, Yack said. That brings the season total to 21.5 inches.
Temperature-wise, forecasts called for highs Friday to hover around the mid- to high-30s before falling by evening, Yack said. Both Saturday and Sunday should see highs around 20 degrees, weather officials say. There’s a chance of snow Sunday, but Yack said flurries were more likely Saturday.
By the time the Bears face off against the Rams at Soldier Field in their divisional-round playoff Sunday night, temperatures will be in the mid- to high-teens, cooling off to the low-teens as the game goes on, Yack said.
The Bears, and fans, have had their fair share of frosty games. Against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field in December, the temperature at kickoff was 8 degrees.
The coldest Bears game at Soldier Field on record dates back to December 2008, when the Bears beat the Green Bay Packers in a game that saw temperatures reach 2 degrees.
The Bears are embracing this weekend’s frosty conditions.
On game day, a “BEAR DOWN” ice sculpture will be unveiled outside of Soldier Field, according to a Bears spokesperson. The sculpture will be displayed outside Ticketmaster Plaza starting at 8 a.m. and will stay through the end of the game.
The installation comes after the team on Thursday fashioned an ice sculpture of quarterback Caleb Williams outside of the Merchandise Mart. The rendering was an ode to the quarterback’s “Iceman” nickname, a title he’s earned by staying calm and cool under pressure, especially late in the game.
The Bears spokesperson, in an email to the Tribune, said the ice sculptures symbolize the city’s winter conditions — and highlight the advantage of hosting postseason football at home.
tkenny@chicagotribune.com
