When January 1982 wasn't family-event friendly...

Dear Tom,
Our family planned a big party here in Chicago involving friends driving in
from out-of-town on a Sunday in January 1982. We postponed it to the next
Sunday because of incredibly cold temperatures, but that following Sunday
was just as bad, and we gave it up until the spring. What are the weather
details?
Jim Metzger
Dear Jim,
You had the great misfortune of planning your party on two of the absolutely
worst days in Chicago weather history. High/low temperatures on Sunday, Jan.
10, 1982, were 4 below zero and 26 below along with 30 m.p.h. winds and an
inch of snow that brought a virtual blizzard and treacherous highway
conditions. That minus 26 is Chicago's second-lowest temperature on record.
The following Sunday, the 17th, was nearly as bad. High/low readings of 4
degrees above zero and minus 23, plus two inches of windy snow made highways
treacherous again.