CHICAGO — The polar vortex is back and the forecasts are dire: A quick punch of snow, followed almost immediately by a life-threatening level of cold that a generation of Midwesterners has never experienced.

Already on Monday, the misery was on full display. In Chicago, where an overnight snow covered the streets and snarled the commute to work, cars spun their tires at downtown intersections and could be seen struggling to move at all on side streets in the neighborhoods. Even some dogs donned boots. In Milwaukee, St. Paul and Minneapolis, public schools called off classes. More than 1,000 flights across the country had been canceled, according to FlightAware.

“We are getting a lot of snow in very little time,” Mayor Andy Schor of Lansing, Mich., said in a statement on Monday as he declared a snow emergency. “People need to stay off of the streets so that we can clear them properly.”

Visibility in Rockford has regularly been 1/4 mile in heavy snow, with at least 3" already having fallen (depth now of 15"!). Also reported via broadcast media is blowing and drifting in and around that area. Use extreme caution if traveling early this morning! #ILwx pic.twitter.com/cw9NYJ7s7F

The snow was expected to push east later on Monday, but the danger in the Midwest was only expected to grow in the coming days.

Forecasters expect Wednesday’s high temperature (yes, the high) to be minus 14 in both Chicago and Minneapolis, with wind chills as low as minus 50 in Chicago and minus 60 in Minneapolis. If the forecast holds, it would be Chicago’s lowest daily high temperature on record. The low of minus 22 was expected to approach, though not surpass, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Chicago.

“This is what you would expect when you get into central and northern Canada,” said Brian Hurley, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Steven Davis, the fire chief in Madison, Wis., said Sunday that “these are tough times” and that he was making preparations for the colder weather to arrive, including decisions about which equipment to deploy to different types of emergencies.

“We’re very concerned about the arctic air and the temperatures,” Chief Davis said. “Obviously, temperatures like this and water don’t mix real well.”

Mr. Hurley said the worst of the polar vortex was expected to extend from northern Illinois and Wisconsin, west through Minnesota, Iowa and the eastern part of the Dakotas, settling in late Tuesday and lasting into Thursday. All of those states are well acquainted with harsh winters, but many of them have not seen weather this cold since 1994, Mr. Hurley said.

The long-term forecast offered some glimmer of relief. By the weekend, Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee were expected to be back above freezing.

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