Bitter cold blankets the state, temperatures stay below zero

Updated: Dec. 31, 9:55 a.m. | Posted: Dec. 30, 4:38 p.m.

High temperatures today and tomorrow are expected to stay below zero all across Minnesota. The frigid air has led to icy roads, vehicle break downs and dangerous conditions.

"That's just the way it is and we dress warmly and behave responsibly," said Carol Hayden who was getting her car repaired at Bobby and Steve's, a service station in Minneapolis.

Inside, customers were looking at longer wait times for battery and tire repairs.

Manager Dan Medin said this is of the busiest weeks of 2017.

"They want a car wash or something done and they're just so darn cold, dead batteries a lot of times but those will also be coming in on towing," he said.

He recommends customers call ahead for appointments during the cold snap.

Though the sun was out Saturday, roads were icy all day. The State Patrol said between midnight and 9 p.m. on Saturday, there were 373 reported crashes and 124 vehicle spin outs. Two resulted in serious injuries.

Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said crews continue to treat troubled spots on ramps and overpasses with salt and other chemicals but days of sub-zero temperatures mean treatments take much longer to work, even with help from the sun.

"From a maintenance point of view we appreciate it greatly and I know everyone else does too but that doesn't mean it is not cold and road is not frozen and there will be spots where it is slick," he said.

Gutknecht says road salt works best when it is about 20 degrees out, so it's tough to effectively treat roads when temperatures dip so low.

"There are some slick spots out there there's also a lot of places where chemicals clear and dry the temperatures once again take effect on way chemicals work and it takes longer," he said.

The arctic chill has taken hold of the region for nearly a week.

The cold temperatures nearly killed David Quiser when he went hunting on Christmas Day in northern Minnesota.

The Cook man told his daughter Dana Sanders he was going out to look for some grouse, but she when didn't hear back from him for hours, she called 911. Soon, a search party was out looking for him and it wasn't until the next day he was found with hypothermic conditions. His truck had slid off the road. He was airlifted to Regions Hospital's burn unit, where he's being treated for frost bite.

Dana Sanders said her father has a message to people.

"Always, always, always tell people where you're going and stick with it. Always have some kind of cell phone device. Always have proper clothing," she said. "And use better judgment when these extreme temperatures we have, it's not safe, it's just not safe to be out and things can happen so fast where it can completely alter and change your life."

Sanders said it's still not clear whether there might have to be some amputation on his hands because of the frost bite. Quiser is expected to be in the hospital for at least another week.

Daily forecasts call for sub-zero temperatures through Friday.