Twenty-six below.

No, that was not wind chill. That was air temperature.

According to the thermometer at the automated weather station at the Albert Lea Municipal Airport, it was 26 below — at 7 a.m. today. Brrr!

It is not quite the record for low temperature on the date of Jan. 21. In 1970, the mercury plummeted to 28 below this day.

On Thursday through 10 a.m. today, much of Minnesota was in a wind chill advisory.

The record for Jan. 20 is 26 below, also from 1970. On Thursday, the low temperature was just 1 degree below zero.

Several schools started two hours late today: United South Central schools in Wells, Glenville-Emmons, Blue Earth Area and Lake Mills, Iowa.

The National Weather Service issued an extreme cold warning for northern Minnesota through midmorning Friday. Temperatures, even without the wind chill factor, dropped to below zero double digits. It was 23 below zero in Duluth this morning.

“Even winds of just 5 mph are creating wind chills of 30 to 40 below zero,” the National Weather Service said.