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MANTI -- Utah has already seen record snowfall this winter, but 2011 has also brought with it some record cold temperatures.
Many Utahns on the Wasatch Front woke up to temperatures in the single digits Tuesday morning. That sounds warm to people in central Utah, where the mercury dipped well below zero.
In Manti for instance, it got down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Residents are doing their best to stay indoors and are turning up the thermostat or throwing another log on the fire. They all wonder, how much longer is it going to feel colder than a deep freeze?
Jason Jackson, a Manti disc jockey from KMTI, said, "We've got cloudy skies outside, we are up to one degree above zero. That's the warmest we've seen so far today. We dropped down to 22 below zero this morning."
At Manti Elementary School, the playground was empty; Students spent recess and lunchtime indoors.
Principal Karen Soper said, "Today at 9:45 it was minus two degrees, so we asked the teachers to keep the children in and keep them warm and safe so we didn't have any frostbite going on."
Going inside isn't an option for livestock. Rancher Bob Bessey worries about his animals anytime the temperature dips below zero, but really starts to worry when it gets this cold.
"I don't worry about the sheep as much because they have a year's wool on them, they handle it pretty good, but I worry about the horses and cows," Bessey said. "It has to be hard on them."
Four years ago, also in mid-January, Manti had a similar cold spell of 24 degrees below zero. Some of the old timers told KSL that as soon as it stops dropping below zero at night, they know summer is just around the corner.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
