Some pet owners believe animals can stand colder temperatures than humans, which is not always true, and depends on the animal's breed, size, health and age. Here are some tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association to keep your pet safe during the cold spell.

1. Keep your pet inside

Cats and dogs are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia, just like humans, and shouldn't be kept outside when the temperature drops below zero. 

2. Check and wipe paws 

Pets' paws should be checked for cold-weather injury like cracking and bleeding. Paws, along with legs and bellies should also be wiped after pets are outside for any period of time as they can pick up traces of antifreeze or other de-icing chemicals, all of which can be toxic to animals. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also recommends rubbing petroleum jelly on paws and clipping belly fur to prevent pets from picking up such chemicals. 

3. Tag your animal

Pets are more prone to go missing in the winter because snow and ice mask the scents that would usually make it easier for an animal to find its way home. Pets should always, but especially in the winter, have tags or a microchip. 

4. Feed your pet a little more in very cold temperatures

Staying warm burns extra calories, so the ASPCA recommends feeding your pet a little more food and giving it more water when the temperatures are very low. But the American Veterinary Medical Association says a higher weight can lead to health risks, so there's no need to overfeed your pet all winter. 

5. And before you start the car ...

Cats love hiding near warm car engines during cold weather, but the habit can be deadly. The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends drivers honk their horns or make other noise to encourage any refuge-seekers to scurry away before the car engine is started.

Here's how cold and miserable it was around the Midwest and parts of the East a little after 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) on Wednesday.

• Chicago minus 15 degrees
• Bismarck, North Dakota minus 14 
• Minneapolis minus 18
• Cleveland 0
• Detroit minus 4 
• Des Moines, Iowa minus 10 
• Buffalo, New York 0
• Lexington, Kentucky 7 

Record-breaking cold in Wisconsin, Michigan and the Great Lakes will yield at least one good result — death to thousands of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle.

For decades now, the beetle has made an all-too-comfortable home in America's heartland, feasting on and killing Ash trees by the thousands. The insect was first imported in wood packing material from China that docked in Los Angeles and was transported by rail to Detroit in the 1980s, scientists have said.

More than 60 percent of the Emerald Ash Borer could be wiped out by this week's cold snap, according to Andrea Diss-Torrance, invasive forest insects program coordinator for Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources.  The Emerald Ash Borer will repopulate, but landowners now have a two-year window to remove beetle-damaged trees before they fall or apply anti-beetle treatment to those trees before the insects rebound, according to Diss-Torrance.

"It’ll knock them back, but it’s not going to cause them to be cleared out by any means," she told NBC News.

Indiana authorities are investigating whether the deaths of two people found outside their homes may be related to the weather.

The body of a 59-year-old man was found in the driveway of his Muncie home on Tuesday morning, according to the Muncie Star Press. An 87-year-old woman was found dead in the driveway of her home in the town of Albany on Saturday. Police have not released their names.

The deaths occurred before Indiana was thrust into the worst of a deep freeze that hit the Midwest on Wednesday, but Delaware County Coroner Rick Howell said they are being investigated as possibly weather-related. Howell said autopsy reports for both people are pending toxicology tests, and foul play was not suspected in their death.

 Frigid temperatures and icy weather have been blamed for at least five other deaths: 

• In Pekin, Illinois, an 82-year-old man died Tuesday afternoon after he was found suffering from hypothermia outside his home, NBC affiliate WEEK of Peoria reports.
• A man in Libertyville, Illinois, was killed Monday when he was hit by a snowplow at the end of his driveway. NBC Chicago reports that the driver of the snowplow has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.  
• In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, a man was found frozen in a detached garage near his home. The county's medical examiner's office said the man may have been shoveling snow when he died. 
• A 31-year-old man near Des Moines, Iowa, was killed in a car crash Monday on an icy interstate when state patrol said he lost control of his vehicle, struck a light pole and was ejected. 
• In Nebraska, a 9-year-old boy died Sunday when the vehicle he was in lost traction on an icy road in Cass County and rolled into a ditch. Iowa State Patrol said five other people were injured in the crash. 

Chicago dipped to -23° this morning with wind chills below -40°. 

Many cities in the Midwest set daily record lows this morning, including Indianapolis that tied -11° and Toledo that set a new daily record of -7°. The cold continues Wednesday and into Thursday as arctic air spreads to the Northeast. 

While the cold won't be as extreme in the Northeast as it was this morning in the Midwest, temperatures will drop to the single digits and wind chills will be below 0°.  More daily record lows could be tied or broken Thursday morning including -7° in Detroit, -15° in Milwaukee, and -5° in Cleveland. 

A slow warm-up starts during the day on Thursday and continues into the weekend.

Buffalo is under a blizzard warning through midnight for wind gusts up to 40 mph and dangerously low visibility for hours.  A blizzard warning is also issued east of Lake Ontario including Watertown. 

Persistent, heavy bands of lake effect snow could produce 3-4 feet of snow around the Tughill Plateau and more than a foot total near Buffalo. Heavy snow lasts into tomorrow and weakens for Friday. Travel will be dangerous or impossible in these heavy bands of snow, in addition to frigid wind chills.

At 12:45 p.m. ET much of the continental U.S. was still in a deep freeze.

• Minneapolis minus 21 degrees
• Chicago minus 18
• Cleveland minus 1
• Detroit minus 2
• Lexington, Kentucky, 6
• Buffalo, New York, 0
• Bismarck, North Dakota, minus 23

It you're unlucky enough to be outside, in the arctic cold of Iowa, keep your mouth shut! 

The National Weather Service in Iowa reminded its Hawkeye State neighbors to minimize any outdoor air-to-skin contact on Wednesday. 

"Further, make sure your mouth is covered to protect your lungs from severely cold air," the NWS said. "Avoid taking deep breaths; minimize talking." 

It was a frosty 16 below zero in Des Moines a little before 11 a.m. CT.

As of 10:30 a.m. CT, approximately 9,300 customers are without power in the Chicago area, mostly in the suburbs.