Photos: Toughing it out in subzero Minnesota


Tony Yaeger made the drive up to Duluth in hopes of catching sea smoke.
1 Tony Yaeger of Andover made the drive up to Duluth in hopes of catching sea smoke Wednesday. With temperatures near 25 below zero in Canal Park at sunrise, Yaeger was battling the conditions with multiple layers on his face, insulated gloves and just a pair of pants. He was holding up fine, but wasn't sure his tripod would work as it appeared to have frozen in the short time it was exposed to the cold. 
Leonard Elits of St. Paul uses a charger to jump start his car.
2 Leonard Elits of St. Paul uses a charger to jump-start his car after the battery died in subzero temperatures Wednesday. "This is the coldest it's ever been," said Elits, who has lived in St. Paul since 1960. 
An attempt at the Guinness Records for coldest hockey game played
3 Hockey players chase the puck during an attempt at the Guinness Book of World Records record for coldest hockey game played Thursday in the backyard belonging to Mike Burman in northwest Rochester, Minn. About 25 kids took to the ice in the attempt. The air temperature, according to the National Weather Service, was in the high 20s below zero, and the wind chill was in the mid-40s below zero. 
Brandon Pena unloads boxes outside Minneapolis City Hall.
4 Brandon Pena unloads boxes outside Minneapolis City Hall in 20 below temperatures on Wednesday. 
A firefighter walks past an ice-encrusted home
5 A firefighter walks past an ice-encrusted home after an early morning house fire Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in St. Paul. Firefighters were called to the house fire in the North End shortly after 4:15 a.m. The air temperature was 27 degrees below zero Wednesday morning, with wind chills at 52 degrees below zero. No injuries were reported. 
FedEx driver Dustin Fraley runs to keep warm.
6 FedEx driver Dustin Fraley runs to keep warm while making his deliveries. 
A bubble freezes on the end of the wand.
7 A bubble freezes on the end of the wand Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in Mankato, Minn. A blast of polar air enveloped much of the Midwest on Wednesday, cracking train rails, breaking water pipes and straining electrical systems with some of the lowest temperatures in a generation. 
Sea smoke rises from patches of open water on icy Lake Superior
8 With air temperatures in the 20s below zero, sea smoke rises from patches of comparatively warm open water on an otherwise icy Lake Superior, as seen from Hawk Ridge in Duluth. 
Sea smoke rises from a patch of open water on icy Lake Superior
9 Sea smoke rises from a patch of open water on icy Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth. 
The Duluth North Pier (left) and South Breakwater lighthouses
10 The Duluth North Pier, left, and South Breakwater lighthouses are seen across a field of jumbled ice on the Lake Superior shore of Park Point in Duluth. 
A patchwork ice pattern covers Lake Superior in Duluth
11 A patchwork ice pattern covers Lake Superior in front of the Duluth North Pier Lighthouse on Wednesday. The temperature at the time was about 20 below zero. 
Sea smoke rises from patches of open water on Lake Superior
12 Sea smoke rises from patches of open water on Lake Superior, as seen from the mouth of the Lester River in Duluth. 
Sea smoke rises from a patch of open water on Lake Superior
13 Sea smoke rises from a patch of open water on Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth on Wednesday. 
Icy shore of Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth
14 The Aerial Lift Bridge is visible in the distance from along the icy shore of Lake Superior at Brighton Beach in Duluth. 
Halo around the sun on a subzero morning in Duluth
15 A halo is visible around the sun over Lake Superior as seen from Hawk Ridge in Duluth on Wednesday. The temperature at the time was about 30 below zero, with a wind chill near 60 below. 
Faye and Jeff Leuwerke finishing the Arrowhead 135
16 Faye and Jeff Leuwerke finish the Arrowhead 135 on Wednesday. Arrowhead 135 is a human-powered ultramarathon that spans 135 miles in northern Minnesota. 
A woman walks past a mural in downtown St. Cloud, Minn.
17 A woman walks past a mural near the Metro Bus Transit Center Wednesday in downtown St. Cloud, Minn. Temperatures in the area were in the minus 30 range Wednesday morning. 
Liz Takenchi takes a selfie with her husband, Hiroshi and Priscilla Abrego
18 Liz Takenchi, left, takes a selfie with her husband, Hiroshi, and Priscilla Abrego in front of a frozen Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis as they brave the subzero temperature on Wednesday. "Right now it's 50 or 60 degrees at home and to come and experience this is amazing," said Abrego, who is visiting from Texas. 
Mary Bridget Lawson walks along the shores of Lake Superior.
19 Mary Bridget Lawson walks from her home to Brighton Beach along the shores of Lake Superior Wednesday during a day when temperatures approached 25 below zero in Duluth. 
Dandre Pernell ties three thermal knit shirts around his head to keep warm
20 Dandre Pernell of Minneapolis ties three thermal knit shirts around his head to keep warm in the subzero temperatures while waiting for the bus in downtown St. Paul on Wednesday. 
Lake Bemidji is quiet on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
21 Lake Bemidji is quiet on Wednesday. 
Mary Preus covers her face as she looks at a frozen Minnehaha Falls.
22 Mary Preus of Minneapolis covers her face as she checks out a frozen Minnehaha Falls on Wednesday. "It's amazing to be out in this weather," Preus said. "I'm just glad the cold isn't going to around very long." 
Icicles form on the face of Kyle Johnson after he finished a run.
23 Icicles form on the face of Kyle Johnson after he finished a run Wednesday at his home in rural Duluth. Johnson decided this was the week to start training for Grandma's Marathon and used wool socks and a wool turtleneck sweater along with a variety of running-specific clothes to stave off conditions that approached 20 below zero during his run. 
Antwoain Buchanan wore three layers and a snowsuit to stave off the cold.
24 Antwoain Buchanan wear three layers and a snowsuit to stave off temperatures approaching 15 below zero Wednesday in Duluth. He also had a music player to help take his mind off the cold. 
It was Megan Kress' dog Gibson that pulled Kress from her home in Duluth.
25 It was Megan Kress' dog Gibson, a nearly 6-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog, that pulled Kress from her home in Duluth Wednesday. 
Danielle Armbruster brought 5-month Kona, an Aussie doodle, to Canal Park.
26 Danielle Armbruster brought 5-month Kona, an Aussie doodle, to Canal Park shortly after sunrise Wednesday in Duluth. to capture some pictures of the sea smoke rising near the lighthouses. To battle the elements, Armbruster had on an Old Navy scarf, Columbia jacket, Sorel boots and a Love Your Melon hat. Kona brought her voluminous coat of fur to stay warm. 
Christopher Paris went out to capture photos of Canal Park.
27 With the sea smoke rising and pancake ice slowly lapping at the shoreline, Christopher Paris called in to work at Frost River and received permission to be a few minutes late so he could capture some pictures of Canal Park on the coldest day of the year Wednesday in Duluth. At sunrise when Paris was visiting Canal Park, temperatures were near 25 below zero. 
Helen Mongan-Rallis of Duluth walks her 9-year-old Border Collie, Peanut.
28 Helen Mongan-Rallis of Duluth walks her 9-year-old border collie, Peanut, on the Park Point Beach in Duluth. The temperature was minus 13 degrees at the time and the National Weather Service in Duluth is forecasting another cold day with highs ranging from minus 9 to minus 13 degrees. 
Elits says the key to staying warm in the cold is to stay inside.
29 Leonard Elits says the key to staying warm in subzero temperatures is to wear multiple layers, a hat and gloves. "And to stay inside, which is what I'm going to do today." 
Dustin Fraley is a driver for FedEx
30 Dustin Fraley is a driver for FedEx. On the coldest day in years, he still had to deliver packages. He said the key is to keep moving and dress in layers. 
TJ McCrory works at the Luekens grocery store in Bemidji.
31 TJ McCrory works at the Luekens grocery store in Bemidji, Minn. On Wednesday, the extreme cold broke the automatic sliding doors, so McCrory had to drag them open and close by hand, just to let people in and out.