Bone-chilling cold gripped the middle of the US as 2018 began Monday, breaking a low temperature record, icing some New Year's celebrations and leading to at least two deaths.
The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories covering a vast area from South Texas all the way to Canada and from Montana and Wyoming in the west through New England to the northern tip of Maine.
Dangerously low temperatures enveloped eight Midwest states including parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska along with nearly all of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.
The weather service said a temperature of 15 below zero (-9 Celsius) was recorded in Omaha before midnight on Sunday, breaking a record low dating back to 1884.
It was even colder in Des Moines early on Monday at 20 below zero (-29 Celsius) and wind chill dipping to 31 below zero (-35 Celsius).
The wind chill dipped to 36 below zero (-38 Celsius) in Duluth, Minnesota, a city known for its bitter cold winters.
An Indianapolis woman was in critical condition after she became confused in the snow and ice and turned her vehicle the wrong direction, driving 150 feet on a retention pond before her vehicle fell through the ice, according to local TV.
She managed to make an emergency call but the phone went dead when the ice cracked.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office said two bodies found on Sunday showed signs of hypothermia.
They included a man in his 50s found on the ground in an alley and a 34-year-old man.
