In pictures: Polar vortex descends on US Midwest, makes it colder than Antarctica
A bone-chilling cold
The polar vortex brought dangerous, bone-chilling cold to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, stretching from the Dakotas through Maine, with snow expected as far south as Alabama and Georgia. (All text by Reuters)
Midwest is hardest hit
The Midwest was the hardest-hit region, as temperatures plunged below zero Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius). By nightfall the mercury was hovering at 0F in Chicago, 7F (minus 14C) in Detroit and minus 21f (minus 29C) in Minneapolis.
Ice age
Local television pictures showed the Chicago River and Lake Michigan filled with chunks of ice.
History-making
Officials warned Chicago residents, accustomed to chilling winters, to expect an unusually deep and dangerous freeze. Even the city's supply of its signature deep-dish pizza was affected: The Lou Malnati's chain announced it would stop taking delivery orders at 8 pm on Tuesday.
'This could possibly be history-making,' said Ricky Castro, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Romeoville, Illinois.
Three sweaters, an undershirt, and a parka
Some Chicago residents found warmth inside the Harold Washington Library Center, which planned to stay open on Wednesday.
Gilbert Rothschild, 79, walked through a corridor wearing three sweaters and an undershirt underneath his parka. 'The more layers, the more you're insulated," he said.
Something to keep your warm
Rothschild, the president of a liquor retailer, said he planned on keeping his stores open on Wednesday, figuring customers who were not working might want to pick up something to keep them feeling warm at home.
-40 °C
A low of minus 10F (minus 23C) was forecast in Chicago and elsewhere in northern Illinois on Wednesday. But with the wind chill factored in, temperatures will feel as low as minus 50F (minus 46C) through Thursday, the National Weather Service reported.
Temperatures could reach lows of minus 30F to minus 40F (minus 34C to minus 40C) in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes on Wednesday, the NWS said.
-27 °C was the coldest
According to the National Weather Service, the coldest recorded temperature in Chicago was minus 27 degrees (minus 33C) on Jan. 20, 1985.
'The garbage men have my utmost respect'
In Fargo, North Dakota, where the temperature dropped to minus 24F (minus 31C), Dan Hallock, an advertising executive, marveled that people were still working outside as he bought coffee.
'The garbage men of Fargo have my utmost respect,' he said.
)
)
)
)
)