POINTERS
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
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HUFFINGTON
01.12.14
1
DEEP FREEZE
Icy weather gripped much of the United States this week, with record lows
recorded in many cities. The Midwest saw temperatures far below 0 degrees
Fahrenheit. Brimson, Minn., recorded a low of -40 degrees, and the Chicago
region registered a wind chill factor that made the temperature feel as low
as -42 degrees -- prompting the Lincoln Park Zoo to move even its polar bear
indoors. The weather grounded flights across the country, and the frigid
conditions caused at least 20 deaths. The chill came courtesy of a polar
vortex, a circulation of winds that typically surround the North Pole but can
occasionally become distorted and send cold air southward. Temperatures were
warming by Wednesday, with the high in New York City a balmy 25 degrees.