In St. Paul, MN, it has warmed up to -16 degrees F.

[MineralMan]

The car is started and is warming up in the driveway for my wife to go run an errand and get out of the house. When she gets back, I'll head for the supermarket and the liquor store. We're back to normal winter behavior in Minnesota.

And so things go...

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. Schools are strill closed down here in the Southeast part of Minnesota.....

Still damn cold for human life.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. Our schools are closed, too.

But, by 5PM, it should be up to 0 degrees. That's just normal weather, and everything will go back to normal. I haven't heard whether we'll get mail delivery today or not, though. I hope so. There's a sizable check coming.

[Siwsan]

3. -6 in Flint

The sky is crystal clear so I'm not sure we will hit the forecast for 4 degrees, today. I need to go out and refill the bird feeder but I'll give it a few more hours.

[MineralMan]

4. Yumm....toasty!

[Siwsan]

13. Is Minnesota in for the freakish rebound into the 50's, by Monday?

It doesn't look like we are in for any seasonal moderation until towards the end of next week. I anticipate some bad flooding situations, with all this snow melting on top of all of that ice.

[MineralMan]

14. Apparently, we'll get mid 40s on Sunday.

That'll be a treat!

[LakeSuperiorView]

23. Supposed to rain over the weekend...

I don't know where that water is going to go if it doesn't immediately freeze to the ground. Going to be a statewide hockey rink.

[Siwsan]

25. That's what I'm worried about

I want to get the snow berm, left by the plow, cleared from the end of my driveway. I'm afraid when this starts to melt, it will pool up, re-freeze, and make getting in and out of the driveway really treacherous. But, I'm still trying to work up the gumption to go out and refill the bird feeders. Depending on what weather site I check, it's somewhere between -1 and +3 with wind chills between -6 and -16.

[LakeSuperiorView]

27. The storm drain is 3/4 the way down the neighbors lot.

He doesn't seem to care about it too much, but I try to keep the street clear to the drain. The plow guy seems to have a overwheming fear of the curb, as he never gets closer than 2 and a half feet to it. One pass down the center to push 1/3 of the street my direction. One pass to put 1/3 of the street in the driveways across. Final pass to push the 2/3rds towards and into our driveways. I ran the snow blower down to the storm drain after the last snow. I hope that we don't get skating rinks.

[Siwsan]

29. I'll probably try to find and dig the storm drain out, on Saturday

I honestly don't remember the last time I cleaned the grid, but I do know the snow plow probably missed clearing it by at least a foot.

Every year I think it would be a good idea to sink a stake at the curb, by the drain. Every year I forget.

[NewJeffCT]

5. you're headed for a toasty 44 degrees by Monday

according to weather.com

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USMN0664:1:US

[MineralMan]

8. See! Spring was always just around the corner...

[MrGrieves]

26. And then -4 later in the week

[NurseJackie]

6. That's downright balmy! Get out the flip-flops and Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts!

[MineralMan]

7. No, thanks. The Hawaiian shirt comes out on the first 50 degree

day. I own no shorts, though. My bandy, white legs are too frightening to expose. I wouldn't want to scare anyone.

[malaise]

9. LOL

Chicken soup is the order of the day

[MineralMan]

12. Not a bad idea. I make a mean chicken noodle soup.

Lots of veggies and actual chicken broth. Sounds good to me! My secret is okra. It helps thicken the broth, but disappears, somehow so nobody knows it's in there.

[malaise]

16. We make our own chicken broth once a week

and freeze it. We cut out lunch - eat late breakfast after our walk, have broth around 2.00 and early dinner between 4.00 and 5.00. After that it's nuts, fruits, or something sweet.

My favorite soup is jerk chicken and corn soup with pumpkin, potatoes, celery and carrots.

[MineralMan]

18. Sounds yummy!

I have to keep the heat down in food I share with my wife. She's of Norwegian heritage and grew up thinking flour is a spice.

Over the years, I've slowly introduced a little heat. "Wow! This is spicy," she says, but eats it anyhow. I can barely notice. I think it's hopeless to think she'll ever get used to it.

[SharonClark]

10. It's up to -1 in Des Moines and the furnace guy is here.'

I may be able to take the sweater off my dog in a few hours.

[MineralMan]

11. That's great, but I hope your furnace is OK with just a little fix needed.

We had to replace ours three winters ago. $$$! Fortunately, we did it on a relatively warm day. The installation guy had it in and running in just a few hours.

I was a little skeptical about their recommendation for furnace capacity. I was wrong. It was only running 50% of the time during this deep freeze weather, and kept the house warm with no strain at all.

[SharonClark]

20. Guy just left after 3 hours - bad circuit board on a 3 year old furnace

Kept it from kicking into 2nd stage but the 1st stage was able to keep the house at 51.

On to the the next problem - car won't start.

[MineralMan]

21. Ah. Well, I'm glad that's fixed now.

I replace the battery in my car before this cold wave. It was over six years old, and the original battery. I just figured it was about time for a new one, and that bitter cold might just kill it.

So, with a new battery, the car started right up, both yesterday and today.

If your car was running well before, it's likely that the battery is the problem. Good luck!

[louis-t]

15. I know a guy who is stuck in Arizona

because his connecting flight was supposed to land in MN and was cancelled.

[Greybnk48]

17. We're up to -15 in NE Wisconsin; -31 real-feel.

By tomorrow it should be normal, and a heatwave for Sat, Sun, Mon.

I'm so glad this round is over.

[marlakay]

19. I am sure you keep car in good condition

My fear when driving in real cold weather is if car stops for any reason. I always keep blankets, coats, and gloves in car for cold driving

[IronLionZion]

22. Good that your car started

also check that the brakes work because sometimes it can freeze up if there's water in the lines.

Ahh...I miss Minnesota. DC isn't cold enough for me. The snow here is wet and clumpy.

[Wellstone ruled]

24. Just another Mid Winter day in

the Gopher State. Did you bring that Brass Monkey in night before last?

[guillaumeb]

28. -8 in sunny Chicago.

We are going to the beach.