- A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday
- Plummeting temperatures in Chicago have forecasters predicting that the city will be colder than parts of Alaska, the North Pole and Antarctica
- US Postal Service will not deliver mail in five Midwest states on Wednesday because of the dangerous cold
- Almost 2,000 flights were canceled early Wednesday, largely out of Chicago, according to FlightAware
- The big chill in the Midwest came on the heels of major Winter Storm Jayden that dumped up to a foot of snow on the region over the weekend - and was to blame for at least four deaths
- Officials have warned that the temperatures will only become more life-threatening as the week progresses
- Forecasters advised against breathing deeply or talking while outside and warned that frostbite and hypothermia issues could occur within seconds
- Governors in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan have all declared emergencies as the worst of the cold threatened on Wednesday
A deadly arctic deep freeze is wreaking havoc on tens of millions of people across the United States as they are hit with recording-breaking low temperatures that have already halted postal services, cancelled more than 2,000 flights and shutdown schools and businesses.
Plummeting temperatures in Chicago have forecasters predicting that the city will be colder than parts of Alaska, the North Pole and Antarctica by Wednesday night.
The National Weather service says the temperature in Chicago dropped early Wednesday to minus 19 degrees, which breaks the previous record low for the day that was set in 1966. Temperatures are expected drop as low as negative 28 degrees as the day progresses.
In comparison, temperatures are predicted to be in the teens and lows 20s at the US McMurdo Antarctic research station. Temperatures in the North Pole are expected to reach minus 20 degrees and Alaska is forecast to have high in the mid-teens.
The extreme weather conditions have prompted Amtrak to cancel all trains into and out of Chicago on Wednesday and most services to or from Chicago on Thursday. Crews had to set rail tracks in fire to keeps trains moving smoothly on Tuesday.
Almost 2,000 flights were canceled early Wednesday, largely out of Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
The U.S. Postal Service has also taken the rare step of suspending mail delivery to five Midwest states - Minnesota, western Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and western Illinois - on Wednesday because of the dangerous Arctic blast.
Sub-zero temperatures already blanketing parts of Canada began sweeping across the Midwest and towards the East Coast on Tuesday evening.
The big chill in the Midwest came on the heels of major Winter Storm Jayden that dumped up to a foot of snow on the region over the weekend - and was to blame for at least four deaths.
Officials have warned that the freezing temperatures will only become more life-threatening as the week progresses.
Forecasters advised against breathing deeply or talking while outside and warned that frostbite and hypothermia issues could occur within seconds.
The National Weather Service forecast for Wednesday night predicted temperatures in Chicago as low as minus 28, with wind chills to minus 50. Detroit's outlook was for Wednesday overnight lows around minus 15, with wind chills dropping to minus 40.
Governors in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan have all declared emergencies as the worst of the cold threatened on Wednesday.
Emanuel said Chicago was turning five buses into makeshift warming centers moving around the city, some with nurses aboard, to encourage the homeless to come in from the cold. About 160 warming centers were opened in the city.
'We're bringing the warming shelters to them, so they can stay near all of their stuff and still warm up,' said Cristina Villarreal, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Family and Support Services.
Shelters, churches and city departments in Detroit worked together to help get vulnerable people out of the cold, offering the message to those who refused help that 'you're going to freeze or lose a limb,' said Terra DeFoe, a senior adviser to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
Nineteen-year-old Deontai Jordan and dozens of others found refuge from the cold in the basement of a church in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
'You come here, you can take a nap, you can snack, you can use the bathroom, you might even be able to shower,' he said. 'And then they're feeding you well. Not to mention they give out clothes, they give out shoes, they give out socks.'
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