Bismark, North Dakota - Residents of the upper Midwest bundled up or just stayed inside Tuesday as a wave of bitterly cold air barreled south out of the Arctic, following on the heels of a fast-moving blizzard.

Some schools closed because of the cold and temperatures hit the single digits as far south as Kansas and Missouri.

The coldest air spilled across the Canadian prairie into the Dakotas and Minnesota. Grand Forks, N.D., dropped to a record low of 37 degrees below zero Tuesday morning, lopping six degrees off the old record set in 1979, the National Weather Service said.

In northern Minnesota, it was 35 below zero in Roseau and 36 below in Hallock, with wind chills down to 45 below in Hibbing. Just to the north, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, also hit minus 36, according to Environment Canada.

Wind chill warnings were posted for much of Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

Dozens of Iowa schools were closed or opened late and travel was not recommended across much of the northern part of the state because of the combination of the cold - minus 14 in Mason City with a wind chill of 37 below - and the 2 to 4 inches of windblown snow the storm delivered Monday.

In North Dakota, the Minot area got 6 inches of snow, on top of about a foot that fell late last week, and Bismarck collected 4. Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks all broke snow records for December, each with more than 30 inches.

"It's like a sea of whiteness; people can't see the road," said Rebecca Arndt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation in Mankato. "When the white fluffy stuff starts to blow, it is not pretty."

The leading edge of the cold air was expected to strike the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and South late Tuesday and Wednesday. And meteorologists warned that a second wave could drop temperatures into the single digits Friday in the mid-Atlantic region.

What was left of that snowstorm was blowing eastward along the Great Lakes,

The weather service posted winter storm warnings Tuesday for parts of Michigan, northern Indiana and Ohio's northwest corner, saying they should be ready for plunging temperatures and wind gusting up to 40 mph.

Up to 11 inches of new snow was possible in Detroit. More than an inch of snow had fallen Tuesday morning, make streets slippery for the rush hour.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan's second-largest city, The Grand Rapids Press reported police and fire crews would visit spots frequented by the homeless, such as highway underpasses, and urge them to go to a shelter.

"We don't want anyone in jeopardy," said Grand Rapids police Lt. Ralph Mason. "We're going to find a way to help."

Airlines had canceled more than 300 flights from Chicago's two airports in expectation of blizzard conditions Tuesday, Chicago Aviation Department spokesman Gregg Cunningham said. However, the weather service lifted blizzard warnings early Tuesday as the snow moved eastward.

Indiana police reported numerous crashes on slippery highways, including a truck that overturned and spilled 43,000 pounds of cheese, closing a busy highway ramp for eight hours during the night in the Gary area.

Many stretches of northwestern Indiana highways were snow-covered, icy and hazardous, said State Police Sgt. Ann Wojas.