While later than usual, truly wintry weather has arrived in the Twin Cities, and other parts of the state are feeling the b-r-r-r-r-r-r too.

Wind gusts around 30 miles per hour, combined with temperatures uncomfortably below freezing, greeted morning commuters and others out and about Tuesday morning in the metro area.

Tuesday's forecast high of 26 is the warmest the Twin Cities can anticipate for the rest of the week, with wind-swept lows around 10 degrees on Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Chances of snow for the next several days, however, for the metro area are minimal, the NWS added.

In far western Minnesota, where the deep freeze has made its presence known, schools in Browns Valley are delayed for two hours before opening.

At the University of North Dakota, just off the Minnesota border, the entire campus in Grand Forks is closed for the day in anticipation of blizzard conditions, thanks to 3 to 5 inches of snow and winds of up to 35 mph. The closure will allow university workers to clear the looming snowfall from roads, parking lots and sidewalks.

In that same neck of the woods, semitrailer trucks on Interstate 94 entering Fargo from Minnesota are being told to go no farther west. The North Dakota Highway Patrol said I-94 is closed from Valley City west to Dickinson because of poor road conditions.

"All commercial motor vehicles are asked to stay in Fargo ... until the interstate reopens," the patrol announced. "Valley City lacks parking and facilities to handle a large influx of additional [big rigs]."

The Weather Service's warning about blizzard-like conditions affecting UND also covers a large chunk of northwestern Minnesota. Bemidji, Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids, for example, were reporting windchills well into single digits as daylight arrived.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482