Relief Predicted for Snowbound Midwesterners

CHICAGO — Deep-freeze conditions that have held the Midwest in a weeklong grip lingered Saturday, with temperatures stuck in the single digits.

By nightfall temperatures were expected to dip below zero again, but arctic air was moving eastward out of Nebraska, signaling a moderating trend, forecasters said. No relief was seen until midweek, however.

In Chicago, the thermometer registered a nippy 5 degrees.

Most of Wisconsin was in a range of 3 degrees to 9 degrees, while Michigan averaged 10 degrees. Minnesota’s temperatures were similar, and some western parts of the state were experiencing a light snow.

In Omaha, doctors continued treating the 3-year-old twin sisters who got up before sunrise Friday morning and went outside on a playful adventure in 10-below-zero temperatures.

Jennifer and Kourtney Woracek were hospitalized with severe frostbite and exposure injuries. Jennifer underwent heart and lung bypass surgery as doctors pulled her blood out of her body and warmed it before recirculating it.

On Saturday, Jennifer’s condition was upgraded from critical to serious and she was on a respirator. She appeared to recognize her parents when she periodically woke up, said Dr. George Reynolds.

“She was as close to dead as she could get,” Reynolds said.

Kourtney was in stable condition.

The extent of the girls’ frostbite and their long-term prognosis remain uncertain.

A frantic search for the girls began when their father saw a light on, toys scattered in the living room and an open door.

Police arrived about 40 minutes later and Officer Troy Kister found a tiny footprint in the snow. A few minutes later, officers found three of their boots and then the girls. Jennifer was face-down in the snow. Her sister was kneeling next to her.

In Montpelier, Idaho, a man and five children died when their Ford Explorer slid on ice and collided with an oncoming tractor-trailer, state police said Saturday. A 16-year-old passenger survived with injuries, as did the truck driver.