MARYLAND — The Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region is about to endure its coldest blast of Arctic air and misery so far this season, but the 5-degree teeth-chattering freeze predicted to hit on Wednesday night is almost balmy compared to what we've seen in the past.

According to The Weather Channel, the coldest temperature ever seen in the state was a numbing 40 degrees below zero. Though the report did not give a date, St. Louis Today reported it happened in Oakland on Jan. 13, 1912. If that sounds cold, get this — the coldest temperature ever recorded in the country was in Alaska 48 years ago, when thermometers read 80 degrees below zero in Prospect Creek, near Fairbanks. The coldest temperature recorded in the continental U.S. was 70 degrees below zero at Rogers Pass, Montana, in 1954.

Wednesday starts out with a seasonal high of 34 degrees, but when the skies clear out tonight the temperature will plunge to a low around 5. The wind chill or "feels like" factor will make it feel as cold as 9 degrees below zero, the National Weather Service said. Blustery winds of 15 to 20 mph could gust as high as 39 mph, making conditions miserable. Thursday will be sunny, with a high near 22, but the wind chill will make temperatures feel like 9 degrees below zero. Again blame a strong wind of 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

SEE ALSO: How To Keep Pipes From Freezing During Maryland Cold Spell

MD Winter Weather: Should You Warm Up Your Car? As you might expect, the coldest temperatures in the Southeast pale in comparison to the Mountain West and Great Plains. While Florida's coldest temperature was a measly 2 degrees below zero, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota and Minnesota have each seen temperatures fall to at least 60 degrees below zero.



No state will come close to breaking those records this week, but that's not going to warm the hearts of people in the Midwest. Some Minnesotans this week will see wind chills as low as 62 degrees below zero in some places. The Twin Cities area woke up Tuesday with temperatures around 10 degrees below zero and wind chill readings estimated the temperatures felt more like a bone-chilling 32-below zero.

Subzero temperatures and similarly fierce wind chills are also expected in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio as a breakdown in the polar vortex blasts arctic cold south, leaving many states feeling more like Antarctica this week — only colder. In fact, 75 percent of the continental U.S. is expected to see temperatures fall below freezing this week, CNN reported.

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Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.