After about 2 inches of snow in Mower County Monday evening, the area is now facing several days of extreme cold and bad enough wind chills to delay Austin Public Schools for two hours on Wednesday.

Austin Public School officials announced school would start two hours later Wednesday morning.

The heaviest of Monday’s snow missed Austin, which saw about 2.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The heaviest snow was recorded near Des Moines, Iowa. Ankeny, Iowa, got 7.8 inches and parts of northern Iowa and southwest Minnesota saw 3 to 7 inches.

However, Mower County isn’t missing the bitter cold and dangerous wind chills. A wind chill advisory is in effect until noon today after temperatures dropped to 9 below zero overnight with wind chills recorded at minus 21, according to NWS readings.

But the next two nights should be worse, and a wind chill warning will run from 12 a.m. to noon Wednesday. After a high of 4 Tuesday, lows are expected to reach 14 below tonight, when winds will increase to 16 to 18 mph with 29 mph gusts. Wind chills should drop to 35-45 below zero.

Wednesdays high and low are minus 6 and minus 17. Thursday should reach 12 degrees before Friday drops down again to a high of minus 1 and a low of minus 9.

With wind chills reaching 35 to 45 below, the weather service warned frost bite will be possible on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

The cold will persist through the weekend.

Austin highs/lows:

Tuesday: 4/-14

Wednesday: -6/-17

Thursday: 12/-6

Friday: -1/-9

Saturday: 11/2

Sunday: 14/4

—Source: National Weather Service

 

Snowfall totals:

Adams: 2 inches

Austin: 2.5 inches

St. Ansgar, Iowa: 3 inches

Blue Earth: 4.5 inches

Algona, Iowa: 6 inches

Ankeny, Iowa: 7.8 inches

—Source: National Weather Service