MOLINE, Illinois-- Once the snow stopped last night, temperatures plunged, with wind chills as cold as 30 degrees below zero. But not even those temperatures could scare some Quad Citians away from enjoying their Sunday, outside or inside.
From Chicago, where the Bears and Packers took to the field in downright dangerous temperatures, to the snow-blown streets of Canada, where this bitterly cold weather began. Winter has arrived.
Here in the Quad Cities, the picture-perfect sunset over the Mississippi River was deceptive. Area streets were empty. Most people stayed inside. It took nearly an hour of driving around town to find anyone out and about.
One apathetic shoveler acknowledged, "We have to go to work tomorrow, so we have to start on it sometime." The shoveler was lucky enough to have help. His son, a 5th grader, says, "I saw my dad out here, so I wanted to come out here and help him shovel."
Because in today's dangerous conditions, frost bite can happen in as little as 10 minutes. That's why most people stayed inside, but not in the places you might expect.
Of course, the Quad Cities' staple, Whitey's was open, but they weren't planning on getting many ice cream orders. A Whitey's cashier says the company has to stay open on extra cold days, for customers who want to pick up gift cards.
Still, some customers couldn't stay away. They simply changed-up their orders, grabbing sundaes with extra hot fudge, to warm them up just a little. Because ice cream always sounds good.