Parts of the US are braced for potentially record-breaking low temperatures as a “polar vortex” brings more freezing weather.
A winter storm has already blanketed areas of Canada and the north-eastern US with up to 2ft (60 cm) of snow. It has been blamed for 16 deaths in recent days and the cancellation of some 3,700 flights over the weekend. Schools have been closed in several US states and residents urged to stay indoors for their own safety. Temperatures in the north and central US could feel as low as -51C (-60F) with the effect of wind chill, forecasters say. The plunging temperatures result from the polar vortex, an anti-clockwise pool of cold, dense air. The vortex has been very strong, with the cold air locked in to Arctic Canada for a long time. Stuck in one place, the air has got colder and colder. Cold air: It could bring some of the coldest temperatures in two decades. “The last really big Arctic outbreak was 1994,” Reuters news agency quoted Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, as saying. “Outbreaks like this don’t occur every day.” In Canada, the temperature dropped as low as -29C (-20F) in Toronto and -38C (-36F) in Quebec City with wind chill on Thursday – the lowest seen in at least two decades there. Heavy snow has also affected US states including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Boston was said to be the worst hit with nearly 18in (45cm) of snow. Schools have also been closed across the state of Minnesota for Monday, as well as for parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, among others. – BBC News
