Welcome Back to the Deep Freeze: Tips on Staying Warm

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 19, 2009 -- He's wearing a ski jacket, thick gloves, a hat and a sweatshirt, but Shalen Tejwani is still freezing. "The only way I could be any colder right now," said the Syracuse University freshman, "is if I was covered in snow."

For students across the country, returning to school for spring semester with temperatures hovering around zero was not exactly what they had in mind.

"The day before I came back to school I was driving in my car with the windows down. It was 75 degrees," said Carrie Leneweaver, an SU sophomore from Arizona. "Next day, I got off the plane in Syracuse, and it was 10 and snowy. Total shock."

January is often one of the coldest months in winter, but the past week has posted even more extreme temperatures than usual. The country has been gripped by frigid temps that have meteorologists pointing their fingers at only one thing: an Alberta Clipper.

According to the National Weather Service, it's a fast-moving, low-pressure system that moves southeast out of Canada, which means strong winds and freezing temperatures for just about anyone living in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States. Depending on where it originates, a clipper can be called a Saskatchewan Screamer or a Manitoba Mauler. And, while it might sound more like a school mascot than a weather system, the recent clipper isn't giving college kids anything to cheer about.

"I walk with my head down," SU senior Patrick Santomauro explained, "and I zip my coat up all the way so it covers my mouth. But some people just stop walking because it's so cold. I don't think they're too happy right now."

Shivering students will have to put up with the big chill for a little bit longer. Temperatures are expected to get even lower over the next few days, before climbing back into the 20s and 30s. You can check out your local forecast here.

"Colder than this?" SU student Rudolph Sohl said, raising his eyebrows, his breath making little white clouds in the icy air. "I couldn't even imagine it. I didn't know it could get any colder."