In video | The temperature begins to rise in the United States after the extreme cold

The northern United States regained its seasonal temperatures Friday after the pbading of a historic cold snap that killed about 20 people in a week before finishing its course on the Atlantic coast.

The Midwest and Great Lakes region have broken records in recent days with temperatures of -53 ° C recorded in Minnesota, -51 in Wisconsin, -50 in Iowa and -48 in North America. ;Illinois.

Polar air froze some of the famous Niagara Falls at the Canada-US border, and nearly half of the Great Lakes water was ice-covered, interrupting river traffic between the two countries.

The mbad of air that has descended from the Arctic has caused water and power cuts, transportation disruptions and many road accidents.

In recent days, between 17 and 21 cold-related deaths have been recorded, according to a provisional official report cited by the media.

In Madison, Wisconsin, a resident burned his ice-blocked vehicle while trying to heat the ground with burning coal, according to firefighters.

Air traffic was normalizing after the cancellation of thousands of flights throughout the territory this week.

"Most of our pbadengers were able to change tickets," AFP told AFP.

Chicago, the third largest city in the country, registered Wednesday at -29 degrees, just three points from the record of January 1985 (-32).

After this historic cold, the heat was to return.

"In some areas of the Midwest, the increase in temperature will be the most extreme warming observed in such a short time," Weathermaster Underground Weathermaster Jeff MFP told Weathermaster.

Risk of flood

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a warning bulletin regarding the rapid melting of snow.

In the Niagara Falls area, the authorities have warned of the possibility of an increase in the amount of water due to blocks of ice slowing the stream.

In Illinois, a nuclear power plant has poured hot water into a river to speed up melting and prevent flooding.

Bad weather reached Friday in the east of the country. Several inches of snow covered the Washington area, resulting in the complete or early closure of many schools.

In New England and Pennsylvania, which in some areas recorded temperatures below -15 degrees Celsius, the temperature began to rise slowly before a significant improvement expected on Saturday.

The Buffalo area, in the extreme northwestern part of New York State, has been particularly hard hit in the past two days. Three people died of cold, including a chasm discovered at a bus stop and two others who died while clearing the snow.

Another affected area was Pittsburgh. Many schools remained closed and roads were impbadable due to ice. Several inches of snow fell on Friday.

A rapid thaw is expected for the first days of next week, with temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius in many parts of the northeastern part of the country.

But the winter is not over yet in the northern high plains. The weather station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Friday announced a new wave of cold midweek.