It's wind chill today in Midwest; Northeast awaits cold

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As the season's first bitter cold spell gripped the Upper Midwest today, schools and officials farther east braced for the icy blast to spread their way as early as today.

People in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin were under a wind chill advisory from the National Weather Service, as were parts of Ohio, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

Today's highs ranged from 20 to 30 degrees below average in the northern U.S., according to the weather service. The temperature was 4 below in Fargo, N.D., early today, and a daylight reprieve in the single digits was short-lived, with lows Thursday morning forecast to be around minus-12. Duluth, Minn., was forecast for an overnight low of minus-5.

With the arctic air tracking northeast, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he would activate the state's severe cold-weather protocol on Thursday, calling for state police and other agencies to work with shelters and community groups to protect vulnerable residents. Malloy also encouraged communities to open warming centers.

Vermont public safety officials warned residents to limit their time outdoors Thursday and Friday due to dangerous wind chills forecast at 35 below. In upstate New York, some schools and government offices were closing early ahead of expected lake-effect snow expected to dump 1 to 2 feet.

Much of the northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will stay cold for the next couple of days as the arctic air remains stuck over the northern Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.