UpdatedMon, Feb 15, 2021 at 7:01 am CT Replies(2) Wisconsin’s record cold temperature was recorded on Feb. 2, 1996, when the temperature in Milwaukee was 55 degrees below zero. (Shutterstock) WISCONSIN — The weather gurus warned the polar vortex, teaming with a wicked wind, would make it miserable in Wisconsin. They weren't wrong. We'd ask "how cold is it in Wisconsin?" if a) it weren't such a tired joke and b) if we thought it was possible for you to manage the answer through your chattering teeth. Subscribe Fortunately, we don't have to. The National Weather Service has invoked frightful words and phrases such as "polar vortex" and "life-threatening cold" to describe the arctic air that settled over the Upper Midwest, including Wisconsin, last weekend.