A blast of icy polar air brought dangerously low temperatures to the US midwest, causing a number of cold-related deaths and forcing residents who pride themselves on their winter hardiness to stay indoors.
Wind-chill temperatures in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes plunged as low as -41C in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and to -35C in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
At least 12 deaths related to extreme cold weather have been reported since Saturday in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to officials and media reports.
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NWS meteorologist Andrew Orrison said some of the coldest wind chills were recorded in International Falls, Minnesota, at -48C.
Even the South Pole in Antarctica was warmer, with an expected low of minus -31C with wind chill.
The bitter cold was caused by a displacement of the polar vortex, a stream of air that normally spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole but whose current was disrupted and was now pushing south.
The phenomenon caused surreal scenes throughout the region, such as steam rising off the waters of Lake Michigan, parts of Niagara Falls solidified into frozen stillness, and blocks of ice covering the river winding through downtown Chicago.
Read more: What is the Polar Vortex?
Classes were cancelled for students across the midwest, including Chicago, home of the nation's third-largest school system, and police warned of the heightened risk of accidents on icy roads.
Michigan said all state offices would remain closed through today.
In a rare move, the US Postal Service appeared to set aside its credo that "neither snow nor rain ... nor gloom of night" would stop its work as it suspended deliveries from parts of the Dakotas through Ohio.
Illinois State Police officers rescued 21 people who were stranded in a charter bus that broke down in sub-zero temperatures along Interstate 55 near Auburn after the vehicle's diesel fuel turned to gel in its engine, according to the agency.
Streets in Chicago were nearly empty, with few people walking outside in the painfully cold air as temperatures hovered -28C.
In Minneapolis, chilled to -26C, Brian Pierce ventured out to "embrace the elements" and found himself watching cars slipping on the roads.
"The roads sound really weird, it seems there’s a lack of grip," he said. "And my teeth hurt."
More than 1,000 flights, close to two-thirds of those scheduled, were cancelled yesterday into or out of Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.
Fighting record cold and not backing down! pic.twitter.com/kqTLiqaizc
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) January 31, 2019
Officials opened warming centres across the midwest, and in Chicago, police stations were open to anyone seeking refuge. Five city buses were also deployed to serve as mobile warming centres for homeless people, while city police handed out hats, jackets and blankets.
The Chicago Police Department said it was urging people to get out of the cold.
"But we will never force someone," police officer Michael Carroll said.
US homes and businesses will likely use record amounts of natural gas for heating, according to energy analysts.
Some residents just to the north and northwest of the Twin Cities in Minnesota were asked by Xcel Energy to dial down their thermostats to 16C because of the strains on its natural gas supply system.
The Michigan Agency for Energy said the state's utility companies had agreed not to shut off gas or electric supplies to customers who may be in arrears for the rest of the week.
A police officer in Chillicothe, Illinois fires a water gun into the air, as the polar vortex grips much of the US. pic.twitter.com/FacM8ZwZKk
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 31, 2019
