IS this the North Pole's climate change counterstrike? An icy piece of the Arctic is drifting deep over the United States bringing it the coldest temperatures in decades to more than half the nation.
The bitter-cold weather is being produced by what is called a "polar vortex", a deep low pressure system drawing down cold air direct from the Arctic.
The whirlpool of sub-zero air is sweeping over the US central and eastern states after spearing down over the Great Lakes, causing the cancellation of 14,000 flights, chaos on the roads and even frostbite.
Normally, the swirling mass of frigid air orbits over the North Pole. Something has sent the system spinning southward over Canada and the United States.
When wind-chill is included, temperatures in places such as the Midwest and Plains will feel as though they are -45C, the Weather Channel asserts. Warnings are being urgently broadcast in several states that exposed skin will freeze "within in minutes".
"This winter storm will be one for the record books and we want to make sure everyone stays safe and warm until it passes," Illinois Governor Pat Quinn warned his people.
Sharon Scott waits for a bus in a bus stop after running erands in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. (Tony Dejak)
And it's not only the US that is copping an Arctic ice-lashing. Britain is taking a beating, too.
Waves up to 8 meters high are slamming into Britain's southwestern coast , as lashing winds and heavy rain batter parts of the UK and coastal residents braced for another round of flooding. The monster waves were recorded at Land's End, the southwestern tip of the UK.
Icy whirlpool's wide-spread chill
As a "polar vortex" usually spins in one place over the ice, the air it has trapped gets colder and colder. This air becomes so dense that, even when expelled from its Arctic chiller, it can travel a great distance without any noticeable warming.
Today is expected to be the most bone-chilling day of the snap with freezing temperatures forecast for all 48 continental US states.
People watch and photograph enormous waves as they break, on Porthcawl harbour, South Wale,. At least three people have died in a wave of stormy weather that has battered Britain since last week, including a man killed when his mobility scooter fell into a river in Oxford, southern England. ( Ben Birchall)
Yes, that includes Texas and Florida.
It's the coldest Arctic outbreak since the early 1990s.
One train on the route from Detroit to Chicago has already disabled for up to nine hours after its engine froze solid.
One person was killed when a private jet skidded on the ice on a runway in Aspen, Colorado.
US Airline officials said de-icing fluid was freezing solid inside aircraft, fuel was pumping sluggishly, and ramp workers were having difficulty loading and unloading luggage.
Britain battens down
Britain's month-long bout of harsh weather is also taking its toll.
In Aberystwyth in Wales, seafront homes, businesses and student residence halls were evacuated as high tides hit the Welsh coast.
The Met Office, Britain's weather forecasting body, warned of wind gusts up to 70 mph (113 kph) and exceptionally large waves along the coasts of Wales, southwest England and Northern Ireland.
At least seven people have died in a wave of stormy weather that has battered Britain since December, including a man killed when his mobility scooter fell into a river in Oxford, southern England.
Jerome Harris is bundled up against the weather as wind blows up his scarf in St. Louis. After the area was blanketed by snow on the weekend, dangerous cold settled across Missouri today amid warnings that even a few minutes of exposure for people and pets could be deadly. (Jeff Roberson)
The Environment Agency issued three severe flood warnings Monday - meaning there is a threat to life and property - for the county of Dorset in southwestern England, as well as more than 300 less serious flood alerts.
Polar relief
The United States' "polar vortex" is currently sitting over Hudson Bay. It is not expected to start dissipating until Thursday.
"It's just a dangerous cold," said National Weather Service meteorologist Butch Dye.
It hasn't been this cold for almost two decades in many parts of the country. Frostbite and hypothermia can set in within minutes.
New York... Pedestrians cross Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Picture: John Minchillo/AP
"I have seen frostbite occur through clothing," said Douglas Brunette, an emergency room doctor in Minneapolis. "It's not enough just to be covered. You need clothes made for the elements. You need to repel the wind."
The forecast is extreme: -35 Celsius in North Dakota, and -26 Celsius in Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Chicago. Wind chills - what it feels like when high winds are factored into the temperature - could drop into the -45 to -51 Celsius range.
In New York City, the temperature was expected to drop sharply from about 11 Celsius to about 10 -12 Celsius overnight as the arctic air moved in.
Current temperatures across the continental United States. Source: Supplied
The Indianapolis mayor upgraded the city's travel emergency level to "red," making it illegal for anyone to drive except for emergencies or seeking shelter. The last time the city issued such a travel warning was 1978.
Michael Stanton walks between houses covered in ice from sea spray along the shore in Scituate, Massachusetts.
Accounts of life with the ice
Elnur Toktombetov, a Chicago taxi driver, said that an hour into his shift, his Toyota's windows were still coated with ice on the inside
Many cities came to a virtual standstill. School was called offon Monday for the state of Minnesota. Government offices and courts in several states closed.
Southern states were bracing for possible record cold temperatures, too. With two freezing nights ahead, Louisiana citrus farmers could lose any fruit they cannot pick in time.
Between a heater that barely works and the drafty windows that invite the cold air inside his home, Jeffery Davis decided he'd be better off sitting in a doughnut shop for three hours Monday until it was time to go to work in downtown Chicago.
A commuter walks past warming lamps to an exit on Chicago's El tracks with temperatures well below zero. (Charles Rex Arbogast)
So he threw on two pairs of pants, two t-shirts, "at least three jackets," two hats, a pair of gloves, the "thickest socks you'd probably ever find" and boots, and trudged to the train stop in his South Side neighborhood that took him to within a few blocks of the library where he works.
"I never remember it ever being this cold," said Davis, 51. "I'm flabbergasted."
One after another, people came into the shop, some to buy coffee, others, like Davis, to just sit and wait.
Giovannni Lucero, a 29-year-old painter, said he was prepared for the storm. To keep his pipes from freezing, he'd left the faucet running and opened the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to let the warm air in his house reach the pipes.
"We stocked up yesterday on groceries because you never know," Lucero said.
Workout... A man uses his cross-country skis on Manhattan's 58th Street during his morning commute. Picture: John Minchillo/AP
