It seems Jack Frost struck again. On Jan 6 and 7, bitter cold winds blew across the U.S. The winter storm dumped snow, wind and a possibility of frost bite.

Many weather channels sent out winter storm advisories and wind chill warnings that lasted from approximately Sunday morning through Tuesday afternoon. Cities such as New York and Chicago experienced wind chill records of 50 to 70 degrees below zero and blizzard-like conditions.

The cold air funneled as far south as the Gulf Coast because of what one meteorologist called a “polar vortex” a counter clockwise rotation pool of cold, dense air.

Many schools even called of classes as early as Sunday.

“A person not properly dressed could die easily in those conditions,” said National weather service meteorologist Scott Truett in St. Louis, describing the expected wind chill in Missouri at day break Monday.

Edwardsville District 7 called off school for the entire week the storm hit.

“I thought it was a great way to extend our Christmas break. I really enjoyed the extra week off,” senior Blake Brinkman said.

Once temperatures started dropping below zero and the wind kicked up, frost bite became a hazard to people with exposed skin. Wind chill is what the temperature feels like to the human skin. It does not affect a car or any object like that.

As a result to dropping temperatures, frost bite can be an enemy. The pores in the skin contain water, and while sweat is an excess amount of H2O, frost bite is when the water in the pores freezes. “It is similar to pulling a hot pan out of the oven and getting burned,” Mr. Dave Boedeker said.

When the wind-chill drops below negative 20 degrees, schools start to worry about frost bite occurring. It can be dangerous for children to stand outside and wait for the bus in those conditions.

According to Mr. Boedeker, the first body parts to freeze are the nose, ears and finger tips. Circulation is weakest in these areas and therefore the most likely to freeze.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch, black ice and snow-covered roads gave way to slippery, slushy thoroughfares as the Wednesday’s temperatures swung from an official overnight low of minus 4 to 23 degrees in the afternoon.

The storm hit hard and left its mark in the Midwest, with temperatures continuing to rise, it looks like snow storm of the century has gone and past. What will the weather unravel next? That remains a mystery.