A rare weather condition described by the National Weather Service as a “polar vortex” or a large swirling mass of arctic air dropped into the United States causing record low temperatures in early January 2014 across the country.

Southern Illinois, depending on where you lived, received anywhere from very little to several inches of snow followed by subzero temperatures that was part of “one of the coldest air masses in years” to blanket the region, according to the National Weather Service. Continue reading →