Yes, Chicago will be colder than Antarctica, Alaska and the North Pole on Wednesday

On Wednesday, Chicago will be colder than parts of Antarctica, Alaska and the North Pole.

The Windy City's "high" temperature on Wednesday should be around 10 below zero, while the overnight low Wednesday night into Thursday morning is forecast to be in the 25-below range, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. 

Thus, for a while early Thursday, Chicago will be colder than the North Pole. "The Arctic Ocean – including the North Pole – will probably be around 20 below," said weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue. 

Chicago's all-time coldest temperature of 27 below zero could be broken Thursday morning, the weather service said.

Down in Antarctica, where it's the middle of summer, the outer edge of the continent will be much warmer than Chicago and the entire Midwest. 

"High temperatures this week at the U.S. McMurdo Antarctic research station are forecast to be in the teens and low 20s (above zero), easily warmer than the highs parts of the Midwest will see through Thursday," according to the Weather Channel's Chris Dolce. The station is located on the shore of McMurdo Sound on the south tip of Ross Island.

Maue said that during summer, much of the coast of Antarctica is tolerable (near freezing) as the wintertime sea-ice melts away. "The Antarctic peninsula is often above freezing," he said.

For at least a short while, Chicago and other parts of the Midwest will likely be colder than the South Pole, which is hovering around 25 to 27 degrees below zero these days.

More:As historic cold blasts Midwest, cities focus on vulnerable, homeless

More:Chicago will be colder than Antarctica this week; 250 million in USA will see freezing temperatures

Chicago will also be colder than Alaska's typically frigid interior this week, the Weather Channel reported. "Fairbanks in the typically cold interior of Alaska is forecast to have highs in the mid-teens Wednesday, much above the late January average high of 2 degrees," Dolce said.

It's not unusual for Alaska to be warmer than portions of the central and eastern U.S. Often, due to a meandering jet stream, Alaska warms up and the U.S. shivers.

Many typically cold places, such as interior Antarctica, Greenland and most of Siberia, will still be colder than Chicago, Maue said.

The coldest permanently inhabited town on Earth, Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia, is forecast to have highs in the minus 30s and lows in the minus 40s this week. The Windy City will be cold Wednesday – but not that level of cold.