How Close Will Wisconsin Come To Beating Coldest Day On Record?

WISCONSIN — The weather gurus warned the polar vortex, teaming with a wicked wind, would make it miserable in Wisconsin.

They weren’t wrong.

We’d ask “how cold is it in Wisconsin?” if a) it weren’t such a tired joke and b) if we thought it was possible for you to manage the answer through your chattering teeth.

Fortunately, we don’t have to.

The National Weather Service has invoked frightful words and phrases such as “polar vortex” and “life-threatening cold” to describe the arctic air that settled over the Upper Midwest, including Wisconsin, last weekend.

The blast of cold air will send temperatures as cold as minus 10 degrees over the next week.

• Monday Night- Mostly cloudy, with a low around -10.
• Tuesday- Partly sunny, with a high near 13.
• Tuesday Night, Partly cloudy, with a low around -5.
• Wednesday-Partly sunny, with a high near 18.
• Wednesday Night-Partly cloudy, with a low around -1.
• Thursday-Mostly sunny, with a high near 19.

But is this the coldest it’s ever been in Wisconsin?

No.

Wisconsin’s record cold temperature was recorded on Feb. 2, 1996, when the temperature in Milwaukee was 55 degrees below zero, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Education.

See Also: The Polar Vortex Returns: Prevent Pipe-Freezing; Should You Warm Up Your Car?

That temperature record may not be broken in this blast of bitter arctic air, but the polar vortex is unusual because the frigid cold is expected to stick around at least through Valentine’s Day,

A meteorological phenomenon that hasn't hit the United States since 2019, a polar vortex is a large area of low pressure located near the poles; and at times during the winter months, the low pressure breaks down, sending south all that bottled-up cold air.

The result? Extremely frigid temperatures and huge plunges of cold air.

This one is living up to its billing.

It has been frightfully cold over much of the north-central United States. On Tuesday, double-digit subzero temperatures were common as far south as Iowa, and the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warned the frigid temperatures are made worse by a wind that may make it feel like minus 50 degrees through Sunday.