Bitterly cold temps sink into region; Monday night will be even colder

More frigid weather has descended from the Arctic sending temperatures plunging below zero. After a low of a minus 6 degrees, Sunday’s high reached just zero before sliding back into negative numbers.
Early Monday morning the temperature fell to a minus 17 degrees with winds gusting to 22 mph out of the northwest dropping the windchill to a very dangerous minus 42 degrees. The high was forecast to struggle to make it to a minus 8 degrees.
Though Monday’s high would be the coldest high temperature of the winter if it only reaches a minus 8 degrees, it isn’t going to be close to the record low high temperature for Dec. 23. That was set back in 1983 when the high was a minus 16 degrees and the low minus 28 degrees.
By Christmas Eve day the high is supposed to reach a relatively balmy 18 degrees, but that won’t be until after the low reaches a minus 24 degrees early Tuesday
Christmas Day the high is supposed to be 19 degrees, but the low is again forecast to fall below zero; a minus 9 was predicted.
The coldest Christmas Eve was in 1983 when the high was just a minus 12 degrees and the low a minus 25 degrees.
The coldest Christmas Day was in 1996 when the high was a minus 10 degrees and the low a minus 23 degrees.
UPDATE FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE:
WIND CHILL WARNINGIssue Date: 302 PM CST MON DEC 23 2013Expiration: 900 AM CST TUE DEC 24 2013

...DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS FOLLOWED BY ACCUMULATING SNOW...

.A WIND CHILL WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF THE MINNESOTA
RIVER VALLEY WITH A WIND CHILL ADVISORY ELSEWHERE...EXCEPT FOR
WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. WIND CHILL READINGS FROM 35 BELOW TO 45
BELOW ZERO WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE WARNED AREA AND FROM 25 BELOW TO
35 BELOW ZERO IN THE ADVISORY AREA.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT... AND COVERS ALL OF
WEST CENTRAL... CENTRAL... SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA... AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN... FROM TUESDAY
AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. SNOW WILL DEVELOP FROM WEST TO EAST
ON TUESDAY... REACHING ALEXANDRIA AND WILMAR BY MIDDAY... THE I-35
CORRIDOR DURING THE MID-AFTERNOON HOURS... AND THE EAU CLAIRE AND
LADYSMITH AREAS BY EVENING. Photo:  Ice fishing villages are cropping up all over the area.  Tonight your fish house with the heater on may be the warmest place to stay!