Bone-chilling cold grips wide swath of US, at least 2 dead

WASHINGTON - Bonechilling cold has gripped much of the central United States as 2018 began, breaking century-old records and leading to at least two deaths attributed to exposure to the dangerously low temperatures.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said two bodies found on Sunday showed signs of hypothermia. They were a man in his 50s found on the ground in an alley and a 34-year-old man. Police believe the cold weather also may have been a factor in the death of a man in Bismarck, North Dakota, whose body was found near a river.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories covering a vast area from south Texas to Canada and from Montana and Wyoming through New England. The bitter cold enveloped much of the Midwest, yet that didn't deter hundreds of people from ringing in the new year by jumping into Lake Michigan.

Despite subfreezing temperatures and a warning of potential hypothermia from the local fire chief, throngs of people took part in the annual Milwaukee tradition on Monday.

But a similar event was canceled on the Chicago lakefront, where the temperature dipped below -17 C as thick white steam rose from the lake.

Temperatures plunged below -17 C elsewhere in the Midwest, including in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the mercury dropped to a record-breaking -36 C. The previous New Year's Day record had stood for 99 years.

In Nebraska, temperatures hit-26 C before midnight Sunday in Omaha, breaking a record low dating to 1884. Omaha officials cited the forecast in postponing the 18th annual New Year's Eve Fireworks Spectacular that draws around 30,000 people.

It was even colder in Des Moines, Iowa, where city officials closed a downtown outdoor ice skating plaza and said it wouldn't reopen until the city emerged from temperatures below -17 C. The temperature hit-29 C early on Monday, with the wind chill dipping to-35 C.

Indianapolis Public Schools canceled classes for Tuesday on all its campuses due to the predicted temperatures. Students had been scheduled to return from the winter break.

In northeastern Montana, the wind chill readings dipped as low as -50 C. And in Duluth, Minnesota, a city known for its bitter cold winters, the wind chill dipped to-38 C.

Plunging overnight temperatures in Texas brought rare snow flurries as far south as Austin, and accidents racked up on icy roads across the state. In the central Texas city of Abilene, the local police chief said more than three dozen crashes were reported in 24 hours.

It's even cold in the Deep South, a region more accustomed to brief bursts of arctic air than night after night below zero. Frozen pipes and dead car batteries were concerns from Louisiana to Georgia as overnight temperatures in the teens were predicted across the region by Monday night.

AP - Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/03/2018 page12)