Cold Blast Envelops US

Arctic air extended its grip on the US today, with below-zero temperatures stretching from Montana to northern New England and frost nipping the Gulf Coast. It was so cold in northern Minnesota—38 below zero at International Falls, with the wind chill during the night estimated at 50 below—that some ski areas closed for the day. Schools from Iowa to Ohio opened late so kids would not have to be out in the coldest part of the morning.

The cold wave also bulged into the Northeast, abruptly dropping temperatures in New York state into the single digits and below—after yesterday’s readings in the 30s, the National Weather Service said. Thermometers read 8 below at Massena, on the St. Lawrence River, with a wind chill of minus-25 degrees. Commuters in Albany, NY, faced a chill of 6 degrees, with brisk wind making it feel like 15 below zero. (More snow stories.)