The Latest: Michigan declares emergency ahead of cold snap

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Latest on a major snowstorm and the expected frigid weather in the Midwest (all times local):

7:25 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has approved a state of emergency ahead of dangerously cold weather .

Whitmer says the order will help address threats to public health and safety stemming from this week’s cold snap, which follows a snowstorm that buried parts of Michigan and other Midwestern states.

Hundreds of the state’s schools are closed Tuesday, including Detroit’s public schools, as cleanup from the snow continued.

Heavy snow and gusting winds also created blizzard-like conditions Monday in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and other states where officials closed schools, courthouses and businesses.

But it’s the plunging temperatures expected to start Tuesday that have forecasters especially concerned. Wind chills could dip to negative 55 degrees (negative 48 degrees Celsius) in northern Illinois this week.

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12 a.m.

Extreme cold and record-breaking low temperatures are settling across parts of the Midwest after a powerful snowstorm pounded the region.

Forecasters say the weather could be life-threatening.

Subzero temperatures will begin Tuesday, but Wednesday is expected to be the worst. Wind chills in northern Illinois could fall to negative 55 degrees (negative 48 degrees Celsius), which the National Weather Service called “possibly life threatening.”

Minnesota temperatures could hit minus 30 degrees (negative 34 degrees Celsius) with a wind chill of negative 60 (negative 51 degrees Celsius). The potentially record-breaking low temperature forecast in Milwaukee is negative 28 degrees (negative 33 degrees Celsius), with a wind chill as low as negative 50 (negative 45 degrees Celsius).

Minneapolis Public Schools announced there would be no classes through Wednesday.