Congrrrrrrrats!: You've survived the longest stretch of subzero temps since Feb. 1996

MILWAUKEE -- Give yourself a pat on the back. You are have survived the longest stretch of subzero temperatures since February 1996.

The beginning of this frigid foray began around 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 28 -- when the wind chill first dipped below zero. It wasn't until around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 that the actual air temperature fell below zero. We finally bottomed out on Thursday morning, Jan. 31 when the temperature fell to -23°F. It wasn't an record, but pretty close. The record low air temperature in the Milwaukee area is -26°F set on Jan. 17, 1982 and Feb. 3, 1996.

According to the National Weather Service, there are 11 other times when we had two consecutive days below zero -- and there are six other occasions when southeast Wisconsin saw three consecutive days below zero.

The longest stretch of subzero days was in January of 1912 -- when records indicate southeast Wisconsin saw four days of subzero temperatures in a row.