In Pictures: Powerful Arctic cold holds its grip over the United States
About 200 million Americans have been placed under weather alerts with warnings of wind chills, blizzards and ice storms, threatening to disrupt energy supplies and thwart travel for millions of Americans ahead of the holiday weekend.
Mist rises from Lake Michigan in Chicago on December 23, 2022, where temperatures reached -21C ahead of the Christmas holiday. A historic and brutal winter storm put some 240 million Americans under weather warnings Friday as the United States faced holiday travel chaos, with thousands of flights canceled and major highways closed.
AFP
Pedestrians cross a bridge over the Chicago River in downtown as temperatures hover in the negative single-digits on December 23, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Sub-zero temperatures combined with strong winds are expected to grip the city for the next couple of days with wind chill temperature dipping as low as -40 degrees.
Getty Images via AFP
A woman carries her dog during a rainy and windy day in New York City, U.S., December 16, 2022.
REUTERS
Residents wait in line in cold weather for free groceries and toys at La Colaborativa's food pantry ahead of the Christmas holiday in Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S., December 22, 2022.
REUTERS
A driver makes their way through a flooded street at high tide during a winter storm in Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S., December 23, 2022.
REUTERS
People are bundled up against sub-freezing temperatures and blowing snow in Chicago, Illinois, USA, 23 December 2022. Much of the US is feeling the effects of a winter storm as an arctic cold front bring below freezing temperatures, snow, and ice to much of the US.
EPA-EFE
Vehicles move along a highway in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23, 2022.
AFP
Vapor rises from the Chicago River as temperatures hover in the negative single-digits on December 23, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.
Getty Images via AFP
The Ohio River is seen in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23, 2022. Nearly a million-and-a-half US power customers were in the dark Friday as a severe winter storm walloped the country, causing highway closures and thousands of flight cancellations days before Christmas. Heavy snow, howling winds, and air so frigid it instantly turned boiling water into ice took hold of much of the nation, including normally temperate southern states.
AFP
A woman crosses the street as she braves the freezing weather ahead of the Christmas Holiday, in Chicago on December 22, 2022. More than 2,200 flights were canceled across the United States by Thursday afternoon as a massive winter storm named Elliot upended holiday travel plans with a triple threat of heavy snow, howling winds and bitter cold.
AFP