A polar vortex is creeping into the already-freezing Midwest, expecting to blast the region with dangerously low temperatures by Tuesday.

Arctic air will be pushed into the Northern Plains and Great Lakes by Wednesday, bringing winds chills as low as -40degrees in many parts, according to the National Weather Service.

In Green Bay, where wind chill temperatures could fall as low as -50 degrees, the NWS said: ‘Wind chills this low can produce frost on exposed skin within 10 minutes.’

‘There’s no mild way of saying it. Brutal cold is coming,’ the weather service said.

Extreme cold weather conditions are predicted across the Midwest in the coming week

Cold weather advisories were in effect Friday from North Dakota to Ohio

A polar vortex rarely plunges as far south as the US and last big plunge was in 2014

The National Weather Service of Chicago warned that temperatures will fall below -40F

By Wednesday and Thursday, cities such as Minneapolis, Green Bay Detroit and Milwuakee will see blistering cold temperatures.

However, forecasters warn that the Great Lakes holds the ‘core’ of the cold.

‘The core of the cold will be in the Great Lakes, where numerous temperature records will be threatened,’ forecasters said.

Forecasters are urging people to bundle up, as Green Bay could experience wind chills of -35 to -50degrees.

But before the polar vortex hits, a snow storm is anticipated to hit the Chicago area Monday, bringing one to three inches of snow.

‘If travel is planned across the area this afternoon and evening, motorists should be prepared to encounter snow-covered roads, and slow travel conditions,’ the Chicago office said.

The National Weather Service of Chicago is predicting recording breaking cold, as ‘the prolonged coldest in at least 5 years, but potentially much longer’.

The cold front is moving to the upper Mississippi Valley.  ….more here