Baby, it's still cold outside By Susanna Capelouto and Ralph Ellis, CNN January 26, 2014 -- Updated 0052 GMT (0852 HKT) Freezing temperatures sweep U.S. Blizzard watch is in effect for parts of the Midwest The weather is aggravating a national propane shortage The cold winter is worsening a propane shortage that affects 12 million Americans who use the fuel to heat their homes. Jeffrey Goodman of Mentor, Ohio, snapped a photo of ice crystals for CNN iReport. It gets cold in northeast Ohio, but it's been awhile since we have had this many days of temperatures in the single digits,' he said. In Atlanta, temperatures are expected to drop into the low 20s Monday night and the low teens Tuesday night. Two dozen states have declared energy emergencies this winter, partly because propane supplies are running short while prices have risen sharply. Supplies are short because of increased demand due to the cold weather and increased usage by corn farmers last fall who used it to dry a bumper crop of corn. Some states, including Wisconsin, are allowing drivers of propane trucks to drive longer hours and increase the amount of propane carried in a single trip. The shortage is especially acute for those who depend on propane to heat their homes during an extremely cold winter. Sandy DeHorn of Crete, Illinois, said the price per gallon recently rose to $5 from $2.69 per gallon. "People are going to lose their houses," DeHorn told CNN. You have a choice, you either pay for the propane or for a house to live in. But it's not cold and snowing everywhere. Mono Lake, in California's eastern Sierra, is going through its third straight year of drought, causing lake levels to drop. "Normally the surrounding mountains would be covered in snow, right now they are bare," Cat Connor wrote on iReport. Mono Lake does get snow at times through the winter as well. ... The water level does fluctuate but I can not remember seeing it this low before.