MARSHALL — Extreme cold set in across southwest Minnesota on Friday, with temperatures hitting a low of 20 degrees below zero, and wind chills forecast to hit about 25 below zero.

But while the cold will stick around for the next few days, there will be a little less wind chill today and Sunday.

“It will still be pretty cold. But the good news is, yes, there will be some wind, but we’re not expecting very strong wind,” said Matthew Meyers at the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls.

Due to the extreme cold, schools around the area closed down or held online learning days Friday, and facilities like the Marshall-Lyon County Library and the Marshall Area YMCA either closed or canceled programs.

Overnight low temperatures today and Sunday will still fall below zero, while daytime highs stay in single digits, Meyers said. Today’s high is forecast at 6 degrees, while the high will be only 3 degrees on Sunday.

The area will see a little relief from wind chills over the weekend, but the chills could get back to 25 degrees below zero again Sunday night into Monday, Meyers said.

Getting into next week, he said, “It will get relatively warmer.” Daytime temperatures are forecast to get to 18 degrees above zero on Monday. That’s still cold, but it’s a return to more normal seasonal temperatures for the Marshall area. Marshall’s average high temperature for the month of January is 24.5 degrees, Meyers said.

While the cold has lingered in the region this week, it’s not setting new records, NWS data said. In Marshall, the longest stretch of consecutive days with high temperatures below zero was recorded in 1936. That year, a subzero cold snap lasted for two straight weeks, from Feb. 5 to Feb. 18.