Coldest temperatures since ‘96 cause limited problems

    GRUNDY CENTER — Monday’s extreme cold snap was the most significant to hit the area in more than 15 years, though problems caused by the temperatures were somewhat limited according to local officials.
    Official low temperature readers of 19 degrees below zero in Grundy Center were the coolest since 1996 but failed to reach even record levels for those dates, which were minus-27 on Jan. 5, 1924 and minus-26 on Jan. 6, 1912. Wind chill values Sunday night into Monday reached 45 degrees below zero at both the Marshalltown Municipal Airport and the Waterloo Municipal Airport according to National Weather Service data.
    It was the wind chills that prompted Grundy Center Community School District Superintendent Cassi Murra to call off classes Monday and delay them two hours Tuesday.
    “With wind chills between 40 and 50 below and advisories out that you can get frostbite in a few minutes, (student) safety really is the biggest concern,” Murra said.
For more of this story, see the Jan. 9 Grundy Register.