An Arctic blast has sent most of the US Northeast and Midwest into a deep freeze that set record lows in several spots as forecasters warned the frigid temperatures could last through the New Year holiday.
A cold front bearing down on the Pacific Northwest was expected to dump as much as 1m of snow from Friday in parts of Washington state and the northern Rocky Mountains, the National Weather Service said.
The weather is set to test the mettle of thousands in New York's Times Square as they ring in the New Year on Sunday night. Forecasters said the temperature is likely to dip under minus 12C, well below the typical average low for the day.
Meanwhile, Tioga, North Dakota, about 320 km north of Bismarck, was one of the coldest spots in the continental US on Thursday at minus 26C early on Thursday.
For most of the region encompassing New England, northern Pennsylvania and New York, the National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories or warnings as temperatures were expected to be below minus 12C in a wide area.
