× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Grandpa was exaggerating about walking four miles uphill both ways to school in the snow. But it turns out he was telling the truth about one thing.

Madison just doesn’t see extreme cold like it once did.

Most college freshmen had never experienced anything as cold as Saturday’s low of minus 23 — assuming they haven’t spent time up north — and Wednesday’s projected minus 26 will be new territory for anyone younger than 23.

While the high is expected to reach only minus 13 on Wednesday — just 2 degrees shy of the 120-year-old record — climate data show cold snaps like this are far less common than they were a generation ago.

Between 1869 and 1999, the temperature hit minus 20 an average of almost 12 times per decade, according to National Weather Service data. Since 2000, it’s happened just twice: in 2000 and Saturday.

The average number of days per decade when it doesn’t get above zero has fallen from 15 in the last century to just two.

And not only have the super-cold temperatures become less frequent, they’re also, well, warmer.