From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 4, 1989:

An onslaught of true wintertime cold arrived in Lawrence today, with an official morning low hitting a record of 9 degrees below zero. In addition to the usual problems of trying to keep themselves warm, local residents experienced trouble starting their cars and keeping water pipes from freezing. The city today was dotted with cars that just hadn’t been able to handle the frigid temperatures, and one local towing company reported five times the normal number of distress calls from stranded motorists. “They’re wanting starts, but the majority of them are turning out to be frozen fuel lines and other maintenance,” said Jerry Taylor, owner of Hillcrest Wrecker & Garage. Stefanie Lockwood of Auto Medic, 315 Industrial, said this was “without a doubt” the company’s busiest day of the winter. Area plumbers and furnace repairers had also been flooded with calls this morning as Lawrence pipes showed the effects of frosty overnight temperatures. Forecasters said the bitterly cold weather was expected to continue for a few days, as daytime highs were not expected to climb out of the single digits. The Kansas University weather service reported that the low this morning of 9 below had been two degrees colder than the record set in 1905. Gusty north winds were adding to the fun, keeping wind chill readings as low as 50 to 60 degrees below zero.

A grain elevator in north Topeka had burst at about 10 p.m. on the previous night, spilling about 600,000 bushels of wheat. No injuries were reported as the result of the collapse of the 90-foot-tall Cargill Inc. bin. Marion McDowell, battalion chief for the Topeka Fire Department, said the bin, which was 150 feet in diameter, had failed because warm weather had caused its steel skin to expand, and the low temperatures which followed had forced it to contract too quickly. “The grain just more or less exploded out the sides of the bin,” McDowell said. Temperatures in Topeka had risen to 71 earlier in the week before dropping to below zero overnight.