Minnesota's brutal cold is actually good for one thing: killing off the destructive emerald ash borer.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Forest Health Program consultant Val Cervenka says many of the insects cannot survive this extremely cold weather.
"Say it gets to be -23 or so, researchers at the Forest Service have found that about 50 percent larvae freeze, so even if all the emerald ash borer larvae aren't killed by the cold temperatures, some are going to be killed," she said.
The pests have decimated thousands of trees in Minnesota over the past several years, forcing many cities to remove healthy ash trees to prevent the spread of the insect. Many times an infected tree is discovered too late, once it's been killed from the inside out.