Classes were cancelled for Wednesday and Thursday in the Midwest, including Chicago, one of the largest school systems in the nation. Police warned of the increased risk of accidents on icy highways. Michigan announced that state offices would remain closed through Thursday. The US Postal Service, known for its dedication to delivering mail in all conditions, halted deliveries in parts of the Dakotas through Ohio. Several deaths have been reported in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota due to extreme cold weather since Saturday. Illinois State Police rescued 21 people stranded on a charter bus that broke down in sub-zero temperatures along Interstate 55 near Auburn. A 70-year-old man was discovered deceased on a residential street in Detroit, as confirmed by a Detroit police spokesperson. In the nearby community of Ecorse, a former city councilman in his 70s was also found dead while wearing sleepwear, according to local police. Additionally, a University of Iowa student, identified as Gerald Belz, was found deceased outside a campus building early on Wednesday, with the school attributing his death to the weather. In Chicago, the frigid temperatures reaching 18 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 28 Celsius) kept the streets nearly deserted, with very few individuals braving the cold air. "It's awful!" exclaimed 68-year-old waiter Pasquale Cappellano, smoking a cigarette while waiting for a bus on Chicago's North Side. "I have to go get my medication at Walgreens or I wouldn't have left the house." Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, where temperatures dropped to minus 14 F (minus 26 C), Brian Pierce decided to brave the cold and observe cars sliding on the icy roads. "The roads sound strange, it feels like there's no traction," he noted. "My teeth are in pain." TRAVELING EAST Wind-chill temperatures in certain areas of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes dropped to as low as minus 42 F (minus 41 C) in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and to 31 degrees below zero F (minus 35 C) in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The freezing winds made their way to the U.S. East Coast later in the day, causing temperatures to plummet. Over a thousand flights, nearly two-thirds of those scheduled, were cancelled on Wednesday at Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports, as reported by the flight tracking site FlightAware. Amtrak also cancelled all trains in and out of Chicago on Wednesday. Annie Carlson reported that her horses and sheep at Morning Joy Farm in Mercer, North Dakota were doing well, with the option to go into the barn for warmth. Her chickens, ducks, and guinea hens were also enjoying the 70-degree F (21 C) temperature inside their hoop house. Meteorologist Andrew Orrison noted that International Falls, Minnesota recorded some of the coldest wind chills at minus 55 F (minus 48 C). Even the South Pole in Antarctica experienced warmer temperatures than usual, with an expected low of minus 24 F (minus 31 C) with wind chill. Chicago's temperatures were expected to drop significantly on Wednesday night, potentially breaking the record low of minus 27 F (minus 33 C) set on Jan. 21, 1985. Banks and stores closed for business, and Waste Management Inc cancelled trash pickups in counties across the Midwest. The extreme cold was caused by a disruption of the polar vortex, a stream of air that normally spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole but had shifted south. Authorities in the Midwest have established warming centers to help those in need during the cold weather, with Chicago even opening police stations as shelters. In addition, city buses have been converted into mobile warming centers for the homeless, and police are distributing hats, jackets, and blankets. The Chicago Police Department is encouraging people to seek warmth but will not compel anyone to do so. Energy analysts predict that US homes and businesses will use unprecedented amounts of natural gas for heating on Wednesday. Xcel Energy requested residents north and northwest of the Twin Cities in Minnesota to lower their thermostats to 60 F (16 C) due to strains on the natural gas supply system. The Michigan Agency for Energy announced that utility companies in the state would not cut off gas or electric supplies to customers with overdue bills for the remainder of the week. (Source: New York Times News Service, 2019)