Brrrr...47 Below...No Wind Chill

Record-breaking subzero temperatures have gripped the state this week, causing schools to close temporarily and residents to bundle up or hibernate until warmer weather arrives this weekend.

The National Weather Service reported the state's low temperature Thursday morning was 50 below at Elk Park north of Butte. Wind chills dipped as low as minus 56 in Livingston.

Several record cold temperatures of at least 30 below were reported across the state, including in Bozeman, Dillon, Fort Benton, Great Falls, Lewistown and West Yellowstone. It fell to 34 below in Great Falls, shattering the old mark of 28 below set 121 years ago in 1893. West Yellowstone's minus 47 tied a 100-year-old record.

Kalispell hit 21 below, breaking the previous record of minus 18 set in 1975. Missoula was 23 below, breaking the 1899 record of minus 17. Butte plunged to negative 36, five degrees colder than the 1933 record for Feb. 6.

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