New blast of frigid air takes hold, moves east

MILWAUKEE – Another band of arctic air began creeping into the northern U.S. on Monday, bringing a wave of frigid temperatures that could linger for most of the week across the upper Midwest and New England.

Temperatures plunged below zero in North Dakota and northern Minnesota on Monday morning. The cold front was expected to sweep south into Iowa and as far east as Maine by tonight and remain entrenched through Thursday.

The bitter blast will lead to a swath of subzero temperatures, with highs in the single digits and wind chills of minus 20 or colder, said Paul Collar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“It’s not to the extent of the last outbreak but it’s still bitterly cold,” he said, referring to the recent polar vortex that sent temperatures plunging well below zero across much of the country and was blamed for at least a dozen deaths.

Some areas across the U.S.-Canada border could see nighttime lows in the negative double digits in the next few days, he said.