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FontOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — As bitter cold began to move into the region Sunday, school districts across Iowa and Nebraska cancelled classes as a precaution and most people stayed home.
Residents might be used to cold weather in the winter, but the National Weather Service said temperatures rarely get this low.
"It's certainly going to rival some of the coldest weather Iowa has ever seen," National Weather Service forecaster Frank Boksa said.
Temperatures were expected to fall well below zero Sunday night, and they won't improve much on Monday.
The National Weather Service warns that wind chills between 35 to 55 degrees below zero are expected across Iowa Sunday night and Monday. The forecast for Nebraska includes wind chills of 30 to 40 degrees below zero.
That will be cold enough for frostbite to develop in about ten minutes, so forecasters have extended a wind chill warning for the area into Tuesday.
On Sunday, outdoor ice skating rinks in Lincoln and Omaha closed because of the cold temperatures, and downtown streets were mostly empty.
School districts in northeast Iowa decided early to cancel Monday's classes because of the frigid forecast. Those districts were followed later by schools all across Iowa and eastern Nebraska, including districts in Des Moines, Iowa, and Lincoln and Omaha, Neb.
"Academics are essential, and we are prudent in making these kinds of decisions, but the safety of our students must come first," Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel said in a statement. "We rarely see these kinds of wind chills."
School officials said they didn't want children to be standing outside waiting for buses or walking to school in the dangerous cold.
Des Moines public schools spokesman Phil Roeder said the last time the district cancelled classes for cold temperatures alone was in January 2009. He said this decision is based on concern for student safety, not worries about buses.
"It is entirely about students being outside and the risk they might have for prolonged exposure to the cold and wind," Roeder said.
City officials in Omaha and Council Bluffs also decided no trash will be collected on Monday to make sure workers stay safe.
The Nebraska Humane Society urged pet owners to bring animals inside during extreme cold. But if pets must remain outside, the group said it's important to make sure they have a solid structure to protect them with hay or straw for insulation and access to water in a heated dish to prevent freezing.
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