A large swath of the United States was gripped by brutal cold and wind chills on Wednesday as record-low temperatures caused by a blast of Arctic air moved across the Midwest and into Eastern states, prompting residents to stay indoors.
Classes were canceled Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago, home of the nation's third-largest school system, and police warned of the risk of accidents on icy highways. The U.S. Postal Service temporarily set aside its credo about carrying mail regardless of "snow nor rain ... nor gloom of night," and halted deliveries from parts of the Dakotas through Ohio.
Temperatures in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes plunged to as low minus 42 Fahrenheit (minus 41 Celsius) in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and minus 31F in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service.