Area shuts down after cold weather blows through

Almost historically cold weather paralyzed much of the area Monday morning as Mower County residents tried to stay warm.

Monday’s high is -15 and low is -18, several degrees warmer than the National Weather Service previously predicted. Yet more wind than predicted is causing wind chills to remain at -50 to -60.

“With more wind, you keep the wind chill down to that level,” NWS meteorologist Andrew Just said.

The weather has caused numerous cancellations, closures and difficulties throughout the region, and Austin is no exception.

Austin Utilities was kept busy Monday morning as an electrical wire conductor on Eighth Avenue Northwest snapped and hit the ground. Utilities crews repaired the cable and restored power to about 100 homes affected by 8:30 a.m., Nibaur said. Utilities workers only dealt with one water-related issue over the weekend — one home temporarily lost water services — but a water main break on Fifth Avenue Northwest was reported broken at about 8:30 a.m. It is unknown how many homes were affected by the break.

Nibaur said people shouldn’t hesitate to call the Austin Utilities emergency number at 507-433-8889 to report issues in such cold weather.

“If customers have any problem whatsoever, please call immediately and we’ll head out,” he said.

All Red Cross offices throughout Minnesota were closed Monday, though emergency services are still available. In addition, the Austin Salvation Army opened its doors as a warming station.

On Friday, Gov. Mark Dayton declared all of Minnesota’s public schools closed on Monday due to the dangerous weather.

Lyle, Southland and LeRoy-Ostrander schools announced classes will start two hours late Tuesday.

A wind chill advisory will stay in effect until noon Tuesday, with a high of 0 during the day and a low of -10 Tuesday night.

The arctic temperatures should break by Wednesday as temperatures rise above 0, and by Friday temperatures should rise to the upper 20s. Minnesota and other northern U.S. states have been regularly hit by masses of arctic air this winter, but meteorologists say residents could get a break from frigid temperatures for a couple weeks before another arctic air mass potentially hits the area at the end of January.