Green Bay, Wis. (WFRV) - The coldest weather of the winter season continues to have its hold over the Midwest. For a third straight day,  warnings and wind-chill advisories kept people indoors. Hopefully that will soon change. 

For yet another day  old man winter kept a firm grip on the Midwest, causing health officials like Dr. Ryan Murphy to issue a warning; if you need to venture outdoors, don't take any chances.  "Frostbite can set in within five to ten minutes," said Murphy from Aurora Baycare Hospital.  "The areas exposed are the most susceptible - ears, nose, fingers, toes, keep all those areas covered," said Murphy.

For emergency personnel from Green Bay to Grand Forks, North Dakota,  the last few days have been a real challenge.  "Fighting a fire in extremely cold temperatures like we're experiencing right now is nothing short of miserable, " said Lt. Nick Craig of the Green Bay Metro Fire Dept.

In Chicago, fire fighters risked their lives rescuing a dog from Lake Michigan; in Dane County, a barn fire forced eight departments to spend many hours outdoors; and in Green Bay,  a house fire on West Point Road kept multiple crews working in less than ideal conditions.

"It creates a lot of difficulties for us," Craig said. "We create an ice rink where ever we are so there is a lot more hazards; slip, trip and fall hazards."

But while this is the type of weather that crystallizes hot water in mid-air in Fargo, it's also the kind of cold that makes a good game of pond hockey possible in Minnesota.  "We're dressed to fit - got the long johns, Sorrels on and everything else," said one spectator. Meaning in the Midwest,  whatever the conditions, all of us have learned to adapt.  No matter what mother nature throws our way.

Tomorrow we are expected to warm up -  to a high of approximately 11 degrees in Green Bay.