Deadly polar vortex hits swathes of US

Cities are all but shutting down across the US Midwest as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex.

BBC reported that at least eight people have been killed in several states as a result of the Arctic weather.

Temperatures fell to -30C (-22F) in Chicago – colder than parts of Antarctica – and -37C in North Dakota.

Freezing weather will chill 250 million Americans, and 90 million will experience -17C (0F) or below.

Snow fell throughout Wednesday, from the Great Lakes region into New England; as much as 24in (60cm) was forecast in the state of Wisconsin, and 6in in Illinois.

States of emergency have been declared in the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, and even in the normally warmer Deep South states of Alabama and Mississippi.

“This could possibly be history-making,” said Ricky Castro, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist in Illinois.

Dangerous wind chills across the Upper Midwest and into the Ohio Valley were expected to last through Thursday, with heavy snow downwind of the Great Lakes, the NWS said.

Heavy rain and mountain snow were expected in the west of the country by the weekend, it added.

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The NWS is warning frostbite is possible within just 10 minutes of being outside in such extreme temperatures.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, has seen the lowest wind chill so far at -54C on Wednesday morning.

Twenty million people in the continental US are expected to experience temperatures of -28C or lower by the week’s end.

Hundreds of schools, as well as colleges and universities, have been closed in the affected states.

Beer deliveries in Wisconsin have been hit, too, as brewers delay shipments for fear their beverages will freeze in the trucks.

Weather officials in the state of Iowa have warned people to “avoid taking deep breaths and to minimise talking” if they go outside.

Residents of America’s third largest city are no strangers to perishing cold, but they have been warned to expect an unusually dangerous freeze.

Chicago has seen more than 1,500 flights canceled from its two main airports, and rail operator Amtrak has scrapped train services from its hub there.

With the icy breeze whipping off Lake Michigan, the Windy City will feel more like -45C. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel urged people not to go outside if possible.