Here's some cold comfort: The arctic front that muscled its way through Chicago this week has not been quite as bad as forecasters feared and may not even break any records.



By late Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service canceled its wind chill warning that was supposed to stay in effect through Thursday morning and replaced it with an advisory.



A warning is issued for wind chills 30 below and worse; an advisory covers wind chills between 20 and 29 below.



It may not sound like a big difference, but a change of a few degrees in the wind chill can mean the skin won't freeze as soon, according to weather service meteorologist Gino Izzi.



The warning was issued Tuesday as forecasts indicated temperatures would get as low as 8 below early Wednesday morning and 14 below early Thursday morning, which would break the record low of 11 below for Jan. 8 set in 1942.



"But the air mass just didn't get as cold as we thought," Izzi explained.



The lows Wednesday morning hovered around 2 below and the worst wind chills were 23 below, several degrees short of the threshold for a warning.



The forecast for late Wednesday night and early Thursday is now for 7 to 11 degrees below zero, with wind chills as low as 25 degrees below.



"The winds are turning south and could keep temperatures milder than we thought," Izzi said. "Though it won't feel mild."



Wind chills of 20 below or worse are still expected through Saturday. Wind chills may not climb above zero until Sunday, according to the Chicago Weather Center.



Monday could bring our first seasonable temperatures in a week. For the middle of January, seasonable is a high in the low 30s and a low in the mid-teens.



And beyond? Izzi said some models suggest another warming spell but quickly added, "I'm a betting man, and I wouldn't bet on it."