Freezing temperatures close schools

Arctic air extended its grip Wednesday with below-zero temperatures stretching from Montana to northern New England and frost nipping the Gulf Coast.

A few ski areas in Vermont and northern Minnesota closed for the day because of the cold – 38 below zero at International Falls, with the wind chill during the night estimated at 50 below.

The temperature at Bolton, Vt., was 10 below zero, and operators of the Bolton Valley ski resort feared that skiers could freeze if a lift malfunctioned, said spokesman Josh Arneson. “Getting people off a lift can take time,” he said.

Schools from Iowa to Pennsylvania opened late so kids would not have to be out in the coldest part of the morning. Some schools closed.

Blowing snow that cut visibility was the problem in the Chicago area. Airlines canceled more than 300 flights at O’Hare International Airport. And in nearby northwest Indiana, state police said one person was killed in a chain reaction crash involving about 20 vehicles on the Indiana Toll Road.

Commuters in Albany, N.Y., faced a chill of six degrees, with brisk wind making it feel like 15 below zero, but some people claimed they didn’t mind.

“I’m a cold weather fan,” said Jeff Plant of Colonie, N.Y., as he sat reading a newspaper at an Albany coffee shop. “I like to see some cold weather in the winter.” Later, he said, he planned to go for a walk “to get some sun.”