North Dakotans buttoning up against this week's cold had good reason: according to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Hettinger, N.D., swooped down to negative 45 degrees on Monday morning, Jan. 1-one of the coldest temperatures on the planet, if not the coldest, NWS said.

The cold temperature is consistent with what much of the state has seen for the past week, with readings well into the negative 20s and wind chill warnings dozens of degrees lower. Broken pipes drew emergency responses this past weekend to both the North Dakota State Mill and Grand Forks' Alerus Center. At the Alerus Center, water spilled out of a sprinkler pipe in a vestibule for nearly 20 minutes.

Temperatures are expected to increase this week, with Grand Forks temperatures rising to as high as 13 degrees on Tuesday, Jan. 2, with a slight chance of snow.