Excelsior, Minn., is experiencing wind gusts of more than 30 miles per hour shooting from the north across a frozen Lake Minnetonka. Still temperature is expected to drop to between -27 and -31 degrees tonight, with windchill temperatures possibly exceeding -60 degrees. Within the last 20 minutes the windchill has dropped to -41, according to the National Weather Service.

Elsewhere in the metro area, hundreds of businesses are closing early or already closed, and events are being cancelled.

547 closing alerts from KARE 11 include Kowalski’s and Caribou Coffee…

Another list of closings is available via the Star Tribune.