Eight die as polar vortex brings life-threatening temperatures to US Midwest
Frostbite and lung damage are among the dangers facing Americans as a polar vortex brings extreme cold to much of the country.
Friday 1 February 2019 15:27, UK
At least eight people have died as life-threatening conditions - colder than Antarctica in some areas - hit America's Midwestern states.
The latest average temperature for the region was recorded at -29C (-20.2F). The US National Weather Service (NWS) said the wind chill was about -46C (-51F).
In Minnesota, where temperatures could drop as low as -70C (-94F) because of wind chill, the NWS tweeted an ominous warning earlier.
"These are VERY DANGEROUS conditions and can lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as five minutes where wind chill values are below -50C (-58F). Best thing you can do is limit your time outside," the office said.
The NWS also tweeted an image showing the wind chill forecast, with large swathes of white over the Midwest showing the areas predicted to dip below -50C.
The weather office in Des Moines, Iowa, urged residents "to protect your lungs from severely cold air, avoid taking deep breaths; minimise talking".
Authorities say at least eight people have so far died due to the extreme weather since Saturday.
They include a man hit by a snow plough in the Chicago area, a couple whose SUV crashed in northern Indiana, a Milwaukee man found frozen to death in a garage, and an 82-year-old man who died of exposure after falling trying to get into his home.
In Detroit, a 70-year-old man was found dead on Wednesday on a residential street and the body of a former councilman for the city of Ecorse, Michigan, was found outside his house, clothed only in pyjamas.
The University of Iowa has said the death on campus of student Gerald Belz appeared to be weather-related.
The worst of the weather is expected across the Midwest - especially in Chicago, Illinois.
The Chicago River has frozen over, with large chunks of ice floating through the city section of the river.
More than 4,000 flights were cancelled at Chicago airports on Wednesday, including 3,300 at O'Hare International - one of America's busiest.
Businesses, government offices and schools also closed in the city, America's third largest, along with major attractions like the Lincoln Park Zoo, Art Institute of Chicago and Field Museum.
"These are actually a public health risk and you need to treat it appropriately," Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
"They are life-threatening conditions and temperatures."
The current freeze will not be limited to a few unlucky regions, however, as around 212 million, or 72% of Americans, will experience below-freezing temperatures over the next few days.
And more than 83 million Americans, or about 25% of the US population, will suffer sub-zero temperatures sometime between Wednesday and Monday.
Authorities in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin put emergency measures in place to handle the severe cold.
The frigid air heading across the US from west to east is driven by a brief visit by the polar vortex, a whirling mass of cold air circulating in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere, present every winter.
It usually stays closer to the poles but sometimes breaks apart, sending chunks of Arctic air southward into the US during winter.
Conditions in parts of the country have become so extreme that US postal workers will not be out delivering anything in six states, and parts of four others.
Courier company UPS also said there would be no pick-ups or deliveries for many parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa.
There was time for some levity, however, as the McLean Police Department, in Illinois, "arrested" Elsa, the Ice Queen from the movie Frozen, for bringing the cold weather with her.