Record-breaking Cold to Blanket US Midwest, East
Big chill follows massive winter storm that clobbered Atlantic coast
Record-breaking cold will spread across the Midwest and East Coast on Friday, just a day after a blizzard hammered the Atlantic seaboard with deep snow, fierce winds and icy floods. Wind-chill temperatures in about 25 major U.S. cities were forecast to plunge as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius (also minus 40 Fahrenheit) on Friday — not just uncomfortable, but dangerous. People looking for relief in Florida will be disappointed. Thermometers will struggle to get to the 10 degree C mark (50 degrees F) throughout the weekend in normally temperate cites such as Tampa and Orlando. Residents in Miami were stunned to see iguanas dropping from the trees Thursday. Biologists say the reptiles are not used to such low temperatures and fall asleep when the air is this cold. Experts warn people to leave them alone, saying they are not dead and will bite when they wake up. Thursday's massive coastal storm brought hurricane-like conditions along the Atlantic Coast, from the Carolinas to Canada. Millions of people were under blizzard warnings and states of emergency. Schools and offices were shuttered, thousands of flights were canceled, and emergency workers scrambled to rescue stranded motorists. Tens of thousands of homes have no power. Powerful winds pushed icy ocean water into the streets of coastal towns in Massachusetts and Maine, including a meter-high tidal wave along the historic wharf in downtown Boston. At least 14 storm-related deaths were reported. But relief is on the way. Forecasters say temperatures next week will be back to normal and even above freezing in most of the East.