Temperatures bottomed out in the teens over Sunday night and if you factor in wind chill, people felt temperatures Monday morning in the single digits.

The frigid temperatures have many people trying to keep warm both inside and out.

It's a vicious cycle that Kenya Murray sits through every winter. She said, “I get up with the kids every morning and sit outside with them."

And the kids come to the bus stop prepared.

“I have on one sweater under my coat. I have on big mittens and a big scarf," said third grader Jada McLeod.

Thermostats have also been working at a record setting pace.

In the past few weeks, Progress Energy has gone from seeing some of its lowest heat usage for January to some of the highest.

Progress Energy spokesman Keith Poston explained, “It probably won't set a peak today but we'll come real close to our record-winning peak which was actually set a year ago today."

And it doesn't stop in the home. For early morning drivers, like Pamela Balentine, heat is the first thing that goes on after the ignition.

“I have to warm it up at least 10 minutes because it's cold. If it's really cold, at least 10 or fifteen minutes," Balentine said.

It's a routine that mechanics say is a must for days like this.

"You're going to want to let your car run for at least five minutes when it's really cold outside so the fluids and the transmission, and particularly in the engine, get a chance to get moving and circulating and getting a little bit of heat built up before you hit the road with that cold weather," Stan Creech of Creech Import Repairs advised.

Balentine said no matter what the weather, she'll brave it warm or cold. “It's worth it because I wouldn't leave my baby out here for nothing."

Mechanics also urge drivers to keep an emergency winter kit in your trunk. It should include a blanket, water, high-calorie snacks, extra clothing and other personal items you may need in case you get stranded.