Find some wood.

The kitchen table ought to do.

OK, now make a fist and read the next sentence.

The cold snap that hit North Dakota this week has snapped no water lines in Bismarck.

Knock on wood.

"We've had nothing, and I'd like to keep it that way,"Richard Wanner, the city's water foreman, said. "I had one gal call me last night who said she didn't have water, but it was a frozen pipe in her home."

Temperatures dropped to 12 below in the Bismarck area on Friday, and warmed up to only minus 2. The low this morning was expected to reach nearly 20 below zero, according to the National Weather Service. Lest you entertain any thoughts of a silver lining, the record low for today is minus 45, set in 1916.

Though there may be no distinct upside to this extreme cold, which is expected to last well into next week, things could be worse. That's a typically North Dakotan statement, but consider:

3 Bismarck's two hospitals have had only one patient admitted to the emergency room in the last three weeks who was suffering from exposure to the cold. "We're finding we're getting more people in from falls on the ice than any other cold-related reason," Kris Magstadt, a spokeswoman for Medcenter One, said. Jamie Driscoll, a spokeswoman for St. Alexius Medical Center, said one person has been admitted to the ER there who fell on the ice.

3 Bismarck police have responded to only one call this week that's been relatively related to the extreme cold, Lt. Dan Donlin said. A 22-year-old man from Kansas was charged Thursday with two counts of criminal trespass after allegedly breaking into two homes on south 12th Street. The man, who was intoxicated, claimed he was attempting to escape the cold.

Things probably won't warm up considerably for a number of days.

The high today will be around 1, with wind chill values of minus 22 to minus 32. The low tonight will be about 10 below. The weather service doesn't expect the temperature to climb out of the hole until maybe Monday. The high on Sunday is predicted to be 1 below, with a low that day of minus 15. The high on Monday could be around 2 degrees, with a low of 11 below.

The weather service has forecast a high of 9 on Tuesday, to be followed by highs in the low 20s for the three days after that.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)