Parts of America are facing temperatures colder than Antarctica this week, as a cold front sweeps through the upper midwest.
US officials are urging residents from northern states to stay inside as the deep freeze sets in across the county, bringing with it life-threatening conditions.
A blast of Arctic air from the polar vortex is causing temperatures to drop as low as -40C (-40F), and in some cases even colder.
Read below for our coverage of the weather on Wednesday, as it happened
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the extreme weather parts of the United States are currently experiencing.
With dangerously low temperatures comes with beauty. Here's a shot from outside of downtown Chicago.
With the polar vortex keeping workers at home, the US Postal Service has announced a rare disruption.
Parts of 10 states will not be getting mail as the cold front moves through, a break from the agency's promise that no weather will keep it from delivering mail to Americans.
Chicago is getting so cold from the polar vortex that workers are literally setting train tracks on fire to keep them from freezing up so badly that trains cannot use them.
Conditions in the American midwest are so cold that officials have warned against breathing too deeply outside, or even talking much while outside.
It could be, for some generations in the midwest, the first time that this amount of cold has been felt, AccuWeater meteorologist Mike Doll told USA Today:
“Some locations in the Midwest will be below zero continuously for 48-72 hours,” he said
But the worst is yet to come, Doll said. “I cannot stress how dangerously cold it will be,” he said. “An entire generation has gone by without experiencing this type of cold.”
NWS Twin Cities on Twitter
Twitter“He may be dressed like an astronaut, but for good reason. It was the coldest balloon launch in 23 years. The temperature was -29.5. #BoldNorth https://t.co/K4oK86Ynjd”Here's some footage from North Dakota and Minnesota during an "arctic blast" that made the roads appear white.
Here is some dramatic footage provided by Metra Rail, the commuter rail line in the Chicago area.
Here's the latest on temperatures from around the country, from news wire services:
Temperatures in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes plunged to as low minus 42 Fahrenheit (minus 41 Celsius) in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and minus 31F in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service. The frigid winds were bound for the U.S. East Coast later on Wednesday into Thursday.
The National Weather Services in Iowa is warning against being, well, chill during the chill.
Here's a bit from a release from the organization. Stay warm, Iowa.
THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE LIFE-THREATENING COLD AIR!!!This is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced. Thisis not a case of "meh, it`s Iowa during winter and this coldhappens." These are record-breaking cold air temperatures, with windchill values not seen in the 21st century in Iowa.
The cold in Chicago has been accompanied by some power outages, according to local power suppliers.
Around 9,300 customers were reportedly without power, primarily in the city's suburbs, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Temperatures in the United States are shockingly cold today, but one city so far has claimed today's record in Minnesota.
Norris Camp in Minnesota saw temperatures drop for three hours to -44C (-48F), with a wind chill bringing the temperatures down to -54C (-68F).
That is the coldest temperature so far recorded in the lower 48 states and colder than Alaska's North Slope.
Residents in New York City have begun receiving snow squall warnings, with sudden white conditions possible, according to emergency alerts from the National Weather Service.
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