NEW YORK--Tens of millions of Americans braved Arctic-like temperatures as low as minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 49 Celsius) on Thursday that paralyzed the U.S. Midwest and were blamed for at least 21 deaths.
Warmer weather was on the way, but that offered little comfort to vulnerable populations such as the homeless and elderly enduring cold that caused frostbite in minutes and made being outside potentially deadly.
Officials across multiple states linked numerous deaths to the frigid air. The death toll rose from a previous 12 after at least nine more people in Chicago were reported to have died from cold-related injuries, according to Dr Stathis Poulakidas at the city's John H Stroger Jr Hospital.
A University of Iowa student was found dead on campus of possible exposure early on Wednesday, according to university officials. The wind chill at the time police found Gerald Belz, 18, was minus 51 F (minus 46 C), according to the National Weather Service.
Homeless and displaced people were particularly at risk, with Chicago and other cities setting up warming shelters. But many toughed it out in encampments or vacant buildings. A 60-year-old woman found dead in an abandoned house in Lorain, Ohio, was believed to have died of hypothermia, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans said.
"There’s just no way if you’re not near a heat source that you can survive for very long out in weather like this," Evans told the Chronicle-Telegram newspaper.
