CHICAGO, Jan. 21 (UPI) — Residents of the U.S. Midwest faced icy winds that caused power outages and windchills near 50 below zero Monday, officials said.
The coldest windchill temperatures were in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, NBC News reported.
The freezing weather was a particular threat to people left without heat and lights.
About 40,000 customers of Detroit’s DTE Energy remained without power early Monday.
At one point,after the power went out Sunday, electricity was out for 120,000 customers.
DTE said the “vast majority” of its customers would have power restored by midnight Monday.
Chicago meteorologist Cheryl Scott said windchills could remain around 15 below zero, ending two years of relatively warm winters.
Winds blowing across the unfrozen Great Lakes were expected to produce lake-effect snows from western Michigan to western New York, Accuweather.com said.
Residents of that region braced for the possibility of heavy snow, officials said.
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