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Travelers get a rude awakening as they land in the Twin Cities

Imagine landing in the Twin Cities in sub-zero temperatures after a 10-day tropical cruise. That's what a group of Minnesota natives had to endure at the airport.

MINNEAPOLIS - As Paul Clemons strolled through the airport, his wardrobe turned some heads. 

"I'm wearing shorts," he proclaimed, standing near baggage claim as he walked toward the escalator to hail a cab.

There's nothing wrong with that, outside the fact that temperatures dropped to -20 and beyond at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday. 

It was the coldest in decades in the Twin Cities and Clemons came home with shorts after a 10-day cruise to the Panama Canal.

"I might be split in half," he admitted. "I don't know. I'm not really looking forward to it. I'm more built for the cruise life."

Clemons was not the only cruise-goer returning to historically low temperatures in the Twin Cities on Tuesday. In fact, an entire tour group landed on a flight from Fort Lauderdale just after 4 p.m., and all of them dreaded the moment they had to step outside the airport for the first time. 

Mary Hanifan, who was headed home to Eau Claire with a group of seven other people, walked toward her shuttle pick-up area bracing for "quite a shock."

"Temperatures in Panama were 80, close to 90," she said. 

That's a 100-degree difference, if you're keeping score.

"Oh, my. This is not fun," she said, grimacing as she burst through the automatic doors to board her shuttle.

"It's very chilly. Very, very chilly."

And then she hopped on that shuttle faster than anyone you've ever seen.

Paul Clemons, meanwhile, endured a similar fate as he sprinted toward his taxi.

"Oh, this is cold!" he said. "I'm not used to this!"

The good news is, the cold will pass.

And another 10-day cruise is just another flight away. 

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