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The Plummeting Thermometer by Craig Koplien and Jay Sorgi

52 degrees in 12 hours.

That's the plummeting temperatures Radio City experienced, reflecting the dramatic drop across all of Southeastern Wisconsin, as we went from 45 degrees to -7.

Snow was not a major issue, as only a small accumulation occured after the rain converted to the white stuff.

"The good news is, the skies are clear," said WTMJ Weather Plus Storm Team Meterologist Craig Koplien.

"It's still going to be biting cold this afternoon, even after we get past the dangerous cold."

Most Schools Closed; MPS Open with Excused Absences by Erik Bilstad and Jay Sorgi
• Audio

The majority of schools in Southeastern Wisconsin are closed, but one major school district that is open today: Milwaukee Public Schools.

Still, nearly half their students stayed home, according to an MPS spokesperson.

41,400 of MPS' estimated 90,000 students took the day off, as parents allowed children to stay home due to MPS' allowance for excused absences with the cold temperatures.

"Over 40,000 children, that's sizable.  We're teaching, and those students are now going through their regular lessons," said MPS' Roseann St. Aubin. 

Average attendance, according to MPS, is about 90%.

What A Temperature Drop! by Craig Koplien and Jay Sorgi

In recent memory, there has never been such a drastic temperature drop in Southeastern Wisconsin.

"We have dramatic changes in temperature all the time, but this was about as dramatic as you're going to get."

"If you consider the wind chill is about -30 to -35 below, that's a swing of 70 to 75 degrees in terms of how it feels, wind chill wise, in about 24 hours. That's pretty dramatic."

It's so rare that the National Weather Service doesn't even keep a statistic for such a quick temperature drop.

"I don't even think there's any type of record that's actually kept."

Getting You and Your Vehicle Outfitted by Jay Sorgi
• Audio

If you have to go out in this stuff today, here's some suggestions on how to get you and your car ready for it.

First of all, get your gas tank at least half full, and make sure you've got a charged-up battery.

Bringing that set of jumper cables could save you if your car doesn't get going later on today.

Have a survival kit in your car in case it doesn't start and your stranded.

Put blankets, sleeping bags, a couple extra layers of clothes, and some high-energy foods in your car.

That, and make sure to layer yourself up.

Click here to link to a story on dealing with the cold from our NFC Championship Game coverage with great tips for managing today's cold.

Power, Airport Problems Not Plentiful by Erik Bilstad
• Audio

As of now, WE Energies says about 60 customers across the region are without power this morning.

At one point overnight, 1,300 customers were in the dark.

Additionally, a couple of light poles fell over in downtown Milwaukee due to the heavy winds.

The Kenosha County sheriff's officials say the Public Safety Building is operating on backup power this morning because of an outage.

The blustery winds has caused some delays and cancellations across the air grid.

Mitchell International's operations department says that other than crews outside being uncomfortable, things look pretty good. planes are coming in.

The biggest problem has been down at O'Hare International in Chicago, with lots of delays.

It's suggested that people taking flights should call ahead to their airline.

A Fast Freezing Tuesday Afternoon by Jay Sorgi
• Audio

The warnings were out by morning, and by mid-afternoon, Cecelia Gilbert of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works said the salt trucks were going out.

A half hour later, around 3:00 p.m, those salt trucks could have been used in the western counties.

"Little balls of pellets, and as soon as you drive over it, it turnes to glare ice," said a caller into Newsradio 620 WTMJ's "Greenhouse" show.

Dan O'Donnell took a drive out to Lake Mills, where the first reports of bad weather came.

"When I started on the road at 10 minutes to three o'clock, it was 44 degrees at Radio City. Right now at 4:00 in Johnson Crrek, it's 26 degrees.

By 4:20 p.m., the temperature dropped to the freezing mark at Radio City..

Scott Steele was outside doing live reports for Today's TMJ4, and was wearing nothing on his head. When he did his live shot at 5:00 p.m., he did it with earmuffs on.

Meanwhile, lots of schools decided to stop their nighttime events, and eventually Wednesday classes. Sue Christoph has kids in the Mukwonago school district.

"I just felt like it's better to be safe and sorry," said Christoph.

Nighttime Driving Conditions by Vicky Hollowell and Dan O'Donnell
• Audio: 
  • Dan on evening commute
  • Vicky on late night driving

The worst of the storm missed the evening rush hour, and while drivers saw high winds and freezing rain that dropped ice pellets and slickened highways, no major accidents occured during major traffic times.

Shortly after 10:00 p.m., when snow picked up, Sheriff's departments started reporting visibility problems and travel issues.  Highway departments had been out to make rides as easy as possible.

In Racine County, I-94 had slowed to as little at 10 miles per hour.  Several deputies recommended that drivers stay off the roads, or at least take it slowly and as carefully as possible.

Most problems were limited to cars in ditches.