In Pictures

Polar vortex puts US Midwest in a deep freeze

Blast of icy polar air brought dangerously low temperatures to the United States’s Midwest causing at least 12 deaths.

Icicles form on the walkway at North Avenue Beach of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Pinar Istek - — A walkway in Chicago covered in ice on Lake Michigan. [Pinar Istek/Reuters]

The blast of Arctic cold that hit the United States Midwest this week will linger on Thursday, but it is pushing east and losing much of its bite after causing at least a dozen deaths.

Schools were closed for Wednesday and Thursday across the Midwest, including Chicago, and police warned of the heightened risk of accidents on icy highways.

At least 12 deaths related to extreme cold weather conditions have been reported since Saturday in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Illinois State Police officers rescued 21 people stranded in a charter bus that broke down in sub-zero temperatures along Interstate 55 near Auburn after the vehicle’s diesel fuel turned to gel in its engine.

More than a thousand flights, close to two-thirds of those scheduled, were cancelled on Wednesday into or out of Chicago O’Hare and Chicago Midway international airports.

The bitter cold was caused by a displacement of the polar vortex, a stream of air that normally spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole but whose current was disrupted and was now pushing south.

A warning sign is covered by ice at Clark Square park in Evanston, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, tri — A deadly Arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday. [Nam Y Huh/AP Photo]

Commuters braves the wind and snow in frigid weather, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in Cincinnati. The extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures are crawling into a swath of states spanning from North — Commuters brave the wind and snow in frigid weather in Cincinnati. The extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures are crawling into a swathe of states spanning from North Dakota to Missouri and into Ohio after a powerful snowstorm pounded the region earlier this week. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]

Icicles hang in front of a door at a bar in Mequon, Wis. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 as temperatures were sub-zero and wind chills were -50 degrees. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) — Wind chills caused temperature to drop as low as -50 degrees Celsius in Wisconsin on Wednesday. [Jeffrey Phelps/AP Photo]

First responders evacuate a person found in sub-freezing temperatures on the banks of Carter Lake, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with reco — First responders evacuate a person found in sub-freezing temperatures on the banks of Carter Lake, in Omaha. [Nati Harnik/AP Photo]

A man crosses a street in whiteout conditions during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York, U.S., January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsay Dedario - — A man crosses the street during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York. [Lindsay Dedario/Reuters]

Pedestrians bundle up in sub-freezing temperatures on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with r — The record-breaking temperatures triggered widespread closures of schools and businesses, and the cancellation of more than 1,600 flights. [Nati Harnik/AP Photo]

Drifting snow obscures a road near Mount Joy in Lancaster County, Pa., on Wednesday Jan. 30, 2019. A bitter deep freeze is moving into the Northeast from the Midwest, sending temperatures plummeting a — The US Postal Service suspended deliveries from parts of the Dakotas through Ohio. [Jacqueline Larma/AP Photo]

Snow partially obscures the David N. Dinkins Municipal building during a squall Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) — The David N Dinkins Municipal building in New York. The bitter cold was caused by a displacement of the polar vortex, a stream of air that normally spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole. [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]

Emergency crews responding to a medical call shovel a path to the woman''s apartment, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in Lackawanna, New York. The area was under a blizzard warning and officials urged people — At least a dozen deaths related to extreme cold weather have been reported since Saturday in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. [Carolyn Thompson/AP Photo]