And the worst of the blast was still to come: Forecasters said temperatures would drop again after sunset on Wednesday, and that Chicago might even break its record low of minus 27. The outlook for Thursday was different but still grim: slightly warmer temperatures — and snow.
Temperatures plummeted and could break records. Minneapolis dipped as low as minus 28, with the wind chill reaching minus 53, the National Weather Service said. Chicago got to minus 23, with a wind chill of minus 50. And Milwaukee hit minus 20, with a wind chill of minus 47.

• As many as eight deaths have been reported to be connected to the Midwest’s dangerously cold weather system, according to The Associated Press, including a man hit by a snow plow in the Chicago region, a man believed to have frozen to death in a Milwaukee garage, and a couple killed in a vehicle accident on an Indiana road.

• Officials throughout the region have declared states of emergency, warned of frostbite and hypothermia, and urged residents to heed guidelines that ultimately boiled down to two words: Stay inside.

More than 2,000 flights were canceled across the United States, according to FlightAware, most of which were heading into or out of the frozen Midwest.

• Bone-freezing cold and Arctic gusts up to 40 miles per hour were blasting New York City on Wednesday evening. Read more in New York Today.

• We asked people in Chicago who work in extreme cold for their practical tips for survival. Here’s what they said.

The temperature at Montrose Harbor on Chicago’s North Side on Wednesday was 21 degrees below zero, with a fierce wind gusting from the west. That did not deter Iggy Ignoffo, who stood at the edge of Lake Michigan, wearing sunglasses and a warm cap, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“I could see Venus, Jupiter and the moon a little while ago,” he said, pointing to the sky. “Beautiful.” Sea smoke rose from the lake, the result of extremely cold air blowing over warmer water. The downtown skyline was visible in the distance, several miles away.

The harbor was hardly deserted: a stream of curious people ducked in and out of their cars, snapping pictures, taking a brief frolic in the snow.

Mr. Ignoffo and his wife come down to the harbor all the time, he said, one of the most photogenic spots in the city. This time, she stayed in the car.

“Now I’m going to take a swim,” Mr. Ignoffo said, beginning the walk back to his car. “Indoors.”

K9s wrote:Why were you starting your car?

This is shaping up as one of the most intense cold-air outbreaks ever for the Midwest. Probably not the worst, though, from a climatological perspective. The one in January 1994 that set Chicago’s record for coldest high temperature was pretty much as cold, but covered a wider area. The one in February 1899 was even colder and set lots of records that still stand. The cold in December 1983, around Christmastime, ranks right up there, as does January 1982. Both of those had several waves of cold weather, lasting a week or more overall.

This one, at least, will be here and gone fairly quickly. The coldest low-level air in the entire Northern Hemisphere is moving southeastward through the Midwest, but it’s going to circle across the Great Lakes and up toward the Canadian Maritimes before reaching the relative warmth of the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. By Saturday, Chicago will be back above freezing and warmer than normal, at least temporarily.

On the whole, though, extreme cold temperatures are rarer than extreme warm temperatures, just because temperatures are warmer overall. Still, a few degrees of warming has no chance of neutralizing an air mass that’s up to 45 degrees Fahrenheit colder than normal.

K9s wrote:Wow. Stay safe. Tomorrow won't be a lot warmer.

JaxTeller wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:33 am

K9s wrote:Wow. Stay safe. Tomorrow won't be a lot warmer.

Thanks. Is about -31 this morning. Wife left for work about 30 minutes ago. She has a 50 mile drive. I have a 8 AM doctor appointment....

Off we go! Supposed to warm up to -3 today and even warmer this weekend.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

K9s wrote:OMG

K9s wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:52 amOMG

eelj wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 4:25 pm The biggest problem we are having with the weather is our Chihuahuas, they have such tiny little feet and both dogs refuse to wear booties that I have had to run out and rescue them more than once this week. The oldest one doesn't even want to relieve himself in the yard, he wants to make his usual 100 yd jaunt down our driveway to the road.

CDFingers wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:29 pm I heard it was so cold in Wisconsin that Senator Johnson had his hands in his own pockets.

CDFingers