In Pictures

Cold weather blasts North America

The eastern half of Canada and the USA are gripped by Arctic conditions.

Arctic weather hits Minnesota — Temperatures have plunged across North America, turning what had been a relatively mild winter into a bitterly cold one.

An Arctic blast has gripped North America over the last few days. Bitter weather and icy winds have dragged the temperatures down over many eastern parts of both Canada and the USA.

Snow has added to the misery, with more than 250 mm falling in parts of Michigan this week. The snow is known as ‘lake-effect snow’ because the air picks up moisture as it passes over the Great Lakes and delivers it as snow to the opposite coast. This is a regular hazard of the winters in North America.

Frozen Lake Harriet — The maximum temperature in Minneapolis on Monday 21 January was a bitter minus 19C (-2F). The biting wind ensured that the weather felt colder still.

Frosty at the falls — The thick ice on the plants shows that it(***)s clearly very cold at Niagara Falls in Canada too.

As many layers as an onion — This tourist still looks cold despite his two coats and panda balaclava.

Fighting fires in Chicago — On Tuesday night, a huge fire engulfed a warehouse in Chicago. Fire department officials said it is the biggest fire the department has had to battle in years.

Fire to ice — As firefighters poured water on the flames, the bitter conditions quickly turned the water to ice.

Everything turned to ice — Huge icicles formed on the building, and everything around it was encased in ice.

Dancing on ice — One-third of all firefighters in Chicago were on the scene at one point or another trying to put out the flames.

The last straw — In trailer parks, like this one in Union Beach, New Jersey, residents are using straw to insulate their homes. Some people are still living in temporary accommodation after the storm Sandy hit the region.

Coated coastlines — The shoreline along the Delaware Bay in New Jersey is buried under thick ice.

Start spreading the news — Temperatures dropped below freezing in New York on Monday 21 January, and have remained below freezing ever since.

Cold feet — The strong winds ensured the weather felt even colder than it was. The maximum temperature in New York on Monday was -7C, but it felt more like -17C.

As cold as ice — The cold weather is expected to gradually ease over the weekend, with temperatures perhaps just nudging above freezing in New York on Sunday.