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Chicago's frozen shore
At least 21 people died in one of the worst cold snaps of all time in the US Midwest.
Ninety million people – one-third of the United States – experienced temperatures below -17 ° C (0 ° F). Some 250 million Americans in total have experienced the conditions of the "polar vortex".
Hospitals treat patients who report frostbite in some parts of the country.
Temperatures are expected to be above average over the weekend.
Who are the victims?
Homeless people are particularly at risk, with heated shelters installed in all cities.
But some still faced the icy conditions and a woman, aged 60, was found dead in an abandoned house in Lorain, Ohio.
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A hospital in Chicago has already treated 50 patients for frostbite, and some may lose a limb, reports CNN. Half of these patients were homeless people, while others had jobs that required them to be outside.
Some people were found dead a few steps from home:
- A Michigan man died of cold in his neighborhood had been "badly dressed against the weather," officials said
- In a wind chill of -46 ° C, an 18-year-old student was found unresponsive a short walk from his dormitory on Wednesday and died later in the hospital.
- On Tuesday, a man died of cold in a garage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after being "apparently collapsed after shoveling snow," according to a medical examiner.
Dangerous roads also played a role in the deaths. A man was mortally hit by a snow shovel near Chicago on Monday and in northern Indiana, a 22-year-old police officer and his wife died as a result of a collision on roads icy.
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What is the forecast?
The freezing cold weather should loosen on Friday.
By the end of the weekend, Chicago could reach temperatures of up to 10 ° C (50 ° F).
"It will take at least 60 degrees for Chicago," Reuters news agency David Hamrick, a National Weather Service forecaster, told Reuters.
The sudden climate of this weekend could be the fastest warm-up ever, according to meteorologists.
But as temperatures warm up dramatically, US emergency officials warn of floods and risks related to public services.
The pipes can burst with such temperature fluctuations and the rapid melting of snow and ice can cause flooding, warned the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
How cold was it?
More than 30 record lows were broken in the Midwest.
Cotton, Minnesota, was Thursday the coldest place in the United States with a minimum of -48 ° C (-56 ° F) based on preliminary data.
Chicago surpbaded the record of January 31, while Mount Carroll probably broke the Illinois record with an early morning temperature of -39 ° C (-38 ° F).
The official low temperature in Chicago this morning was -21 ° F. This breaks the previous January 31 record of -12 ° F (1985). In records dating back to the 1870s, it was only the fifteenth time that Chicago experienced a daily depression as cold or cold, yesterday was 14th.
– NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 31, 2019
End of @NWSChicago's post Twitter
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The cities of Iowa have also broken records of temperature.
The cold drifted east on Thursday, resulting in sub-zero temperatures in northeastern cities such as Boston.
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If wind chill is taken into account, temperatures of -40 ° C (-40 ° F) in the Midwest and Great Lakes are close to -53 ° C (-63 ° F), which is sufficient to cause frostbite in less than five minutes.
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Reuters
Snow Plow in Buffalo, New York
How does the cold wave affect daily life?
The Arctic climate could cost billions of dollars in the United States. In 2014, a similar freeze in the polar areas would have cost the country about $ 5 billion (£ 3.8 billion), reports CBS News.
In Minnesota and Michigan, gas companies have asked residents to turn down the thermostats in their homes to meet heating demands.
Consumers Energy, a natural gas supplier in Michigan, had a fire on Wednesday morning that damaged equipment and temporarily affected the amount of gas that could be sent to customers.
We understand that the timing of our request is not ideal considering the cold temperatures of today. However, without further reductions, we risk not being able to provide natural gas to Michigan families and critical facilities – a scenario none of us would want to face.
– Consumers Energy (@ConsumersEnergy) January 31, 2019
End of @ConsumersEnergy's Twitter post
The Native American tribes of the Midwestern states have helped their members obtain heating supplies because many live in substandard housing, reports the Associated Press.
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Andrea Cusack, a pharmacist from Michigan, began using her snowmobile to deliver essential prescriptions to snowbound residents, according to the Lansing State Journal.
More than 2,300 flights were canceled and another 3,500 were delayed due to the polar vortex.
Social media is full of photos and memoirs illustrating how cold it has become.
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AFP
Niagara Falls covered with snow
Where is Canada?
Areas of Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, as well as the north, remain under extreme cold warnings.
But many parts of the country are moving towards more seasonal temperatures on Friday and weekends.
In Toronto, wind chills of about -30C (-22F) were expected to continue early Friday before starting to warm up.
There were also warnings of winter storm and active blizzards across the country, from the east coast to the west coast.
Environment Canada urged residents to limit their exposure to cold weather and keep their pets indoors.
Canada has not experienced a series of polar vortex-related deaths such as the United States.
Stephen Hwang, an badociate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, suggested that cities and public health authorities in Canada probably had more experience in managing intense cold.
Most homeless shelters also had protocols in place for extreme cold.
But he said he was still "lucky" that cities like Toronto, where homeless shelters have been strained in recent months, have not seen any cold-related deaths. among its most vulnerable citizens.
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