BITTER COLD COMING | Valley temperatures to plunge

11:06 a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s going to get very cold very fast in the Mahoning Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

The temperature is going to drop as low as minus 3 degrees Tuesday night with wind chills of minus 12.

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, the temperature will be minus 5 with wind chills of minus 20. It will get even colder Wednesday night with a temperature of minus 12 and wind chills dropping to 30 below zero, according to the weather service.

The area will be under a wind chill watch from 4 a.m. Wednesday to 1 p.m. Thursday.

10:49 a.m.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Heavy snow has led to the closure of Michigan’s state government, including the Capitol building and legislative offices, as a snowstorm moves across the region ahead of frigidly cold weather.

Most state government offices in the Lower Peninsula were closed Monday morning except for offices handling critical functions. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is encouraging motorists to stay off the roads.

Heavy snow and gusting winds have also created blizzard-like conditions in Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern Illinois and other Midwestern states where officials have also closed schools, courthouses and businesses.

But it’s the plunging temperatures expected later this week that have forecasters especially concerned. Wind chills could dip to negative 55 degrees in northern Illinois, which the National Weather Service calls “possibly life threatening.”