Mother Nature scorned is a lot like Elsa, the Snow Queen from Disney’s Frozen, unleashing her icy powers on the world.

 

Minnesota effectively ground to a halt Tuesday as the lowest temperatures in a generation forced the state into a deep freeze.

 

This week, Central  Midwest experienced this polar numbness as temperatures dropped to dangerous levels throughout the state and schools, government offices and businesses dealt with the mid-week disruption.

 

Three days of school and activities were called off because of the scary low temperatures and some businesses closed their doors early or told employees to just stay home until the frigid air clears out.

 

Wind chill temperatures dropped to -66 degrees Fahrenheit in Minnesota Wednesday morning.

 

On Wednesday, Xcel Energy sent out a message to all their customers asking them to set their thermostats to 60-63º to help conserve gas. The message said Xcel was experiencing “a significant strain on their natural gas system due to the extreme weather conditions.”

 

“We need those in Becker, Big Lake, Chisago City, Lindstrom, Princeton, and Isanti to reduce use of natural gas,” the message proclaimed. "Until further notice, you are urged to turn down your thermostat and avoid the use of other natural gas appliances including hot water. Your cooperation is critical to try to prevent widespread natural gas outages. To try to keep your home warm, you may want to use electric space heaters.”

 

Princeton did have a gas interruption at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and about 150-160 customers lost their gas service. Xcel said they had their crews on the scene working to restore service and to ensure their customers’ safety, they secured  six hotel rooms in Princeton, Elk River, Rogers, Big Lake and Monticello for any customers in need.

 

“We’ve established a command center at the AmericInn in Princeton,” said the Xcel message. “Our staff will be available to assist with arrangements to have a plumber help residents winterize their homes during the outage and staff will also have the latest details and updates on our restoration progress.”

 

The thermostat turn-down was lifted Thursday.

 

Wednesday’s arctic chill also caused the area post offices to halt delivery of mail for the day to protect their delivery people and drivers from frostbite. Though their motto is “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” — Elsa and her paralyzing rawness made them cry uncle. 

 

With deliveries suspended, Becker’s post office saw workers clock-in at work Wednesday, and their duties of sorting and organizing kept them safe and warm inside. Becker Postmaster Michelle Mattsen said Amazon also suspended their package deliveries Wednesday but Mattsen says she doesn’t believe the delay will have any affect on schedules and regular deliveries moving forward.

 

Great River Regional Library closed at 5 p.m. for the day on Tuesday and were closed all day Wednesday.

 

The extreme cold prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation to halt snowplow operations in 11 southeastern counties. MnDot officials said the cold was causing mechanical issues with the snowplows.

 

Area hospitals, including CentraCare Health in Monticello and St. Cloud reported __ new patients suffering from frostbite and other cold-weather related injuries.

The good news? Elsa and Mother Nature are taking a short vacation and temperatures are expected to rise to the 30’s and 40’s for the weekend. Snow is also predicted for the early part of the week and colder weather returns by Wednesday, but it is not expected to be as harsh.

 

By the way, Spring is just 45 days away!