We are in the middle of an Arctic Blast.  

The powerful system is bringing the coldest temperatures some areas have felt in more than 30 years. 

It’s so dangerous that towns are shutting down, like it’s a blizzard. 

We went to South Dakota State University in Brookings. 

Students braved sub-zero temps to attend their last classes Tuesday afternoon. The campus is now closed until noon on Thursday. 

It’s a similar story for schools and businesses across the eastern part of the state… even the post office has cancelled operations.  

Here in Sioux Falls and in much of eastern South Dakota, we are about to experience our coldest temps in ten years. 

You can see just how cold it already is, just by looking at the city’s namesake.   

We shot this video just a couple of hours ago at Falls Park, as you can see, the falls are basically at a standstill. 

So, when was the last time it got this cold?

Sioux Falls hit 30 below in January 2010 and in Aberdeen SD it fell to 42 below ten years ago.  

While we’ve seen this cold before… it’s usually occurred with light winds.  What makes it different this time is the strong wind.  They’re going to create wind chills of minus 40 to minus 60.  This just makes it more dangerous, not only for people, but for livestock.