Schools in Chicago, Boston and other large cities closed on Thursday as sub-zero temperatures and bitter winds gripped central and eastern United States for a third day and, as Reuters reports, [6] meteorologists warned there was little relief in sight. A stunning 83.8% of America was freezing this morning (and 12.9% below zero) as an Arctic air blast from Canada hit the U.S. Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with many parts around minus 10 Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), the National Weather Service said.
83.8% of the US is freezing...
[7]
And Chicago is freezing over...
[8]
"While it looks like the high pressure responsible for the cold will last another day or two and then move to the east, another shot of cold air will be coming into the north-central states toward the weekend," National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Broyles said.
The service said frostbite could set in with just 15 minutes' exposure to the frigid air and advised people to keep pets indoors. Driving could be treacherous in areas hit with blowing snow and icy roadways, it added.
Chicago Public Schools, the third-largest U.S. school district with 400,000 students and almost 800 institutions, told students to stay home and indoors as temperatures dropped to between 20F and 30F below average.
Schools were also closed in Boston, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis.
...
The weather service issued wind chill alerts for Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities. Overnight wind chill values in most areas reached minus 15F to minus 25F.
...
"It makes the conditions extremely hazardous to travel," Broyles said.
Temperatures also plummeted to an uncharacteristic 10F to 15F across the Gulf Coast overnight, where a hard freeze warning was issued for east Texas across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and southern Georgia, Broyles said.
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There goes Q1 GDP!!
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Four Cleveland Rec Centers to Stay Open All Day Amid Freezing Cold Temperatures via @ericsandy [9] http://t.co/m5LWPF3IQN [10] pic.twitter.com/PsGWnbIz3s [11]
— Cleveland Scene (@Cleveland_Scene) January 8, 2015 [12]
#freezing [13] #morning [14] in #Maine [15]. Steam off the #ocean [16] at Fort Williams. pic.twitter.com/TpHBHl2HL4 [17]
— Amie Lou (@Faithsangel9) January 8, 2015 [18]
it's -6°F, the water is literally freezing over, the windows are frozen....yet we still have school pic.twitter.com/8YFK0St71l [19]
— hannah (@HannahJB47) January 8, 2015 [20]
Freezing Weather in New York City pic.twitter.com/x8Wj3fyeKy [21]
— Usha Oza (@ushioza) January 8, 2015 [22]
