Weather in Chicago: The deadly polar vortex leaves 12 dead and railway lines down to -26 ° C

While the UK is facing the coldest temperatures of winter so far, in the US, hell has literally froze.

Residents of Hell, Michigan, have experienced temperatures as low as -26 ° C, according to the National Weather Service, while northern states are seized by a deadly polar vortex.

Elsewhere, in Chicago, the average temperature is -17 ° C, making it the second coldest day of the last 150 years.

Residents of the area were warned not to "breathe deeply" on the outside as the freezing temperatures led Lake Michigan to solidify with a hypnotic effect.

The polar vortex is wreaking havoc across the United States, killing at least 12 people, including a student found in the icy cold of the University of Iowa.

Authorities said Gerald Belz's body was found behind a clbadroom just before 3am on Wednesday by campus police.

The 18-year-old was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The polar air blast that covered much of the Midwest on Wednesday shut down schools and businesses, while straining public services, with some of the lowest temperatures ever recorded a generation as low as -45 ° C with wind chill.

Conditions broke railway lines and saw thousands of flights canceled.

According to Hell's Facebook page, they do not have as much snow as other winters "but we are much colder.

"Yes, hell is frozen."

Images of Lake Michigan became viral after constant vapor was observed to clear the ice because the air is significantly colder than the lake.

It freezes almost immediately into small ice crystals, producing a brilliant glow known as "diamond dust".