Subzero Temperatures Settle Across U.S.A Sunday Jan 05,2014

Subzero temperatures settle across U.S.

Several Midwestern states were walloped by up to a foot of new snow on Sunday. Five to 9 inches had fallen in the Chicago area by Sunday afternoon, while the St. Louis area had about a foot of snow and northern Indiana had at least 8 inches. Central Illinois was bracing for 8 to 10 inches, and southern Michigan could see up to 15 inches.

Snow-covered roads and high winds created treacherous driving Sunday Jan 05,2014 from the Dakotas to Michigan and Missouri as residents braced for the next round of bad weather: dangerously cold temperatures that could break records across much of the nation.

About 1,200 flights had been cancelled Sunday at O'Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago, aviation officials said, and there also were cancellations at Logan International Airport in Boston and Tennessee's Memphis and Nashville international airports

The National Weather Service said the snowfall at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport totaled more than 11 inches as of 6 p.m. Sunday — the most since the Feb. 2, 2011, storm that shut down the city's famed Lake Shore Drive

Temperatures were being suppressed by a "polar vortex," a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air that will affect more than half of the continental U.S. throughout Sunday and into Monday and Tuesday, with wind chill warnings stretching from Montana to Alabama.

The forecast is extreme: 25 below zero in Fargo, N.D., minus 31 in International Falls, Minn., and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. Wind chills - what it feels like outside when high winds are factored into the temperature - could drop into the negative 50s and 60s. Northeastern Montana was warned Sunday of wind chills up to 59 below zero.

For the first time in 20 years, all Minnesota schools will close on Monday Jan 06,2014.Several cities and districts in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, among others, also called off classes

Polar Vortex Across The USA Monday Jan 06,2014

Nearly 187 million people, more than half of the nation's population, were under a wind chill warning or advisory on Monday Jan 06,2014

The coldest temperature reported in a 24-hour period through Monday was -36 degrees at Crane Lake, Minnesota, while the warmest was 84 at Hollywood and Punta Gorda, Florida

Minnesota officials took the rare step on Monday of closing all public schools; schools in St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee were also shut and schools in Washington D.C. and Atlanta will also be closed on Tuesday

Thousands of flights have been canceled and JetBlue shut down its operations in Boston and New York-area airports in an attempt to correct the backlog of canceled flights; it will resume as normal tomorrow

Experts have called the temperatures and freezing winds 'dangerous and life threatening' - warning that skin can freeze in just ten minutes in wind chills of minus 50; parts of Minnesota could be hit with wind chills of minus 60

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency covering 13 counties in the western part of the state on Monday afternoon and more than 300 Army and Air National Guard have been mobilized

With wind chill warnings from Montana to Alabama, much of the U.S. is experiencing the coldest temperatures in almost 20 years - and there'll be no let up on Tuesday

On Monday Jan 06,2014,a man carries his shovel while walking through the drifting snow in Michigan

Ice builds up along Lake Michigan at North Avenue Beach as temperatures dipped well below zero on Monday in Chicago, Illinois

Waves in Lake Michigan turned into blocks of ice

The lighthouse at Pere Marquette Beach is completely frozen after a severe winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014 in Muskegon, Michigan

Polar freeze moves to US East, South

A deep freeze spread from the US Midwest to the East and South, setting record low temperatures from Boston to Birmingham, and leaving 21 people dead, authorities said.
The cold turned deadly as authorities reported at least 21 cold-related deaths across the country since Sunday, including seven in Illinois, and six in Indiana.

The Midwest and the East experienced temperatures colder than much of Antarctica.

The big chill started in the Midwest over the weekend, and by Tuesday, it covered about half of the country. In New York City, the high was expected to be -12 Celsius; in Boston, around -8 Celsius

 Across the South, records were shattered like icicles.

Birmingham, Alabama, dipped to a low of -14 Celsius, breaking the record of -11.7 Celsius set in 1970.

Atlanta saw a record low of -14.5 Celsius. Nashville, Tennessee, got down to -16.7 Celsius, and Little Rock, Arkansas, fell to -13 Celsius. It was just -17 Celsius at Washington Dulles International airport, eclipsing the 1988 mark of -13 Celsius.

The deep freeze dragged on in the Midwest as well, with the thermometer reaching -24 Celsius overnight in the Chicago area and -25.5 Celsius in suburban St Louis.

Steam rises from downtown buildings as temperature begin to climb above zero for the first time in more than 30 hours in Chicago, Illinois

 

A Tug Boat Navigates the frozen Mississippi River in St Louis

 

A man walks past a snow encrusted bicycle with wind chills nearing minus 30 Fahrenheit in downtown Chicago.