Freezing cold temperatures are sweeping through parts of the Midwest in what officials are declaring a polar vortex. The U.S. Postal Service, in a rare move, suspended mail delivery while hundreds of public schools and universities from North Dakota to Pennsylvania canceled classes. The heavy snowfall and gusting winds have also prompted officials to close a slew of courthouses, businesses as well as ground air travel. Areas spanning from North Dakota and Missouri to the city of Chicago, Illinois, are experiencing record-breaking air temperatures as the brutal snowstorm makes its way though to the East. Due to a split in the polar vortex, temperatures dropped much lower than normal, causing parts of the Midwest to be colder than Antarctica, reports AP. Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan before sunrise in Chicago, Illinois. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) The painfully cold weather system that put much of the Midwest into a historic deep freeze was expected to ease Thursday, though temperatures still tumbled to record lows in some places. Ice and water flows over the American Falls, seen from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canad. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP) Canada geese wade in the unfrozen waters of the Bee Branch near 16th Street in Dubuque, Iowa. (Dave Kettering/Telegraph Herald via AP) Frozen Minnehaha Falls is seen in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen) Wednesday January 30 A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, triggering widespread closures of schools and businesses, and prompting the U.S. Postal Service to take the rare step of suspending mail delivery to a wide swath of the region. A person walks along the lakeshore in Chicago, Illinois. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) Drifting snow obscures a road near Mount Joy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma) A firefighter walks past an ice-encrusted home after an early morning house fire in St. Paul, Minnesota. Firefighters were called to the house fire in the North End shortly after 4:15 a.m. The air temperature was 27 degrees below zero Wednesday morning, with windchills at 52 degrees below zero. No injuries were reported. (Jean Pieri/Pioneer Press via AP) Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan before sunrise in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) Another view from later in the morning shows more ice forms on Lake Michigan in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) The above overview shows Chicago's lakefront covered with ice. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) Commuters brave the wind and snow in frigid weather in Cincinnati, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Geese huddle in the water as the sun rises at the harbor in Port Washington, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) A woman watches the sun rise at the harbor in Port Washington, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) Tuesday January 29, 2019 Frost covers part of the face of University of Minnesota student Daniel Dylla during a morning jog along Mississippi River Parkway In Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP) The sun rises behind icicles formed on the harbor in Port Washington, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) The Grace In The City Church and Minneapolis Police Sgt. Grant Snyder delivered cold-weather gear, hot chocolate and food to homeless people who haven't made it into a shelter. Pastor John Steger, with Grace In The City church, embraces Jearline Cyrus, a homeless woman, in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP) Monday January 28, 2019 Morning commuters face a tough slog on Wacker Drive in Chicago. (Rich Hein/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Pedestrians cross an icy Chicago River on Madison St. near the Civic Opera House in Chicago, Illinois. (Rich Hein/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Commuters wait for a train as snow falls in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) Tow truck personnel work to remove an overturned semi in the median of Interstate 90 at mile marker 218 near the U.S. Highway 52 exit, southeast of Rochester, Minnesota. According to Sgt. Troy Christianson, with the Minnesota State Patrol, the semi was eastbound and went straight off the gradual curve into the median because of blowing snow. Sgt. Christianson said there were no injuries in the crash. (Joe Ahlquist/The Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP) Cars are covered by snow in Wheeling, Illinois. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Crystal Oestreich, of Manitowoc, shovels her neighbor's driveway during a snowstorm in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (Joshua Clark/The Post-Crescent via AP) Chicago's El trains move along snow-covered tracks in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) A plow removes snow along West Wisconsin Avenue at North 8th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP) Icicles form on the Detroit Tigers statue outside of Comerica Park in downtown Detroit, Michigan. (Tanya Moutzalias/Ann Arbor News via AP) Gary Verstegen clears a sidewalk as a winter storm moves through Wisconsin in Little Chute, Wisconsin. (William Glasheen/The Post-Crescent via AP) Hand prints are left behind as traffic moves slowly along College Avenue during a snowstorm in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin. (Dan Powers/The Post-Crescent via AP) An employee of Pozorski Hauling & Recycling collects trash during a snowstorm in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (Joshua Clark/The Post-Crescent via AP) Adam Fischer shovels out his vehicle to go to work in Rochester, Minnesota. (Joe Ahlquist/The Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP) Lead image by AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato; The Associated Press is a contributor to this post.<doc-sep>The Arctic air in Chicago is dangerously cold, so much so that earlier on Tuesday Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a statewide disaster proclamation, which is equivalent to a state of emergency. The measure ensures local governments will have the necessary resources through the extreme weather that’s expected to break all-time low temperature records. Chicago officials are doing everything to help residents stay warm and safe, but the brutally cold weather has caused schools to close, airlines to cancel hundreds of flights and trains to suspend service. Stay up to date of how the extreme weather is affecting the city. “This storm poses a serious threat to the well-being of people around the state, and we will use every tool at our disposal to keep our residents safe,” said Governor JB Pritzker in a statement. “This disaster proclamation ensures that the state of Illinois has the flexibility to effectively and efficiently respond to the needs of local governments during this extreme weather event.” The heart of the Arctic cold has arrived. The combined effects of the cold & winds are at their peak today with wind chills of -45° to -60° continuing. The afternoon highs today...yes the highs...will only be -11° to -17°. Please be smart & safe today. #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/3WaRW6SyKR — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 30, 2019 A state disaster declaration allows more agencies and resources to help communities that could need recovery from the extreme cold. The state has set up warming centers which can be found through Ready Illinois or by calling your county emergency management agency. On Monday, the governor put an emergency preparedness plan in place to warn residents of the extreme weather and hazardous travel conditions.<doc-sep>
(Reuters) - The governor of Illinois on Monday issued an emergency preparedness plan ahead of a “historic” polar vortex of cold air and wind descending on much of the U.S., warning residents that temperatures were likely to plunge well below zero. Governor J.B. Pritzker said wind chill could drive temperatures to -55 degrees Fahrenheit in northern Illinois on Tuesday evening, capable of causing frostbite in a matter of minutes. “This is a potentially historic winter storm that will bring extreme cold to our state and all Illinoisans must prepare,” Pritzker said in a written statement released by his office.”Our administration is putting into place an Emergency Preparedness Plan with key state agencies as well as warning residents about these life-threatening conditions.” The so-called polar vortex weather system was expected to send frigid winds that circulate around the North Pole across much of the United States from the Dakotas through New England, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Hurley said. “If you live up in the Arctic Circle, you’d say this is pretty normal. When it’s actually brought down to this level, that’s when you know it’s something serious,” Hurley said. Blizzard conditions were predicted across parts of the western Ohio Valley and snow was expected through Wednesday from the Great Lakes region into New England. Snowfall was also expected in the Dakotas, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; and in Central Michigan, where a foot (30 cm) or more of snow is expected, the weather service said. Slideshow ( 5 images ) Chicago will take the main brunt of the super cold weather, with widespread heavy snow already affecting the area on Monday, the weather service said on Twitter. Wind chills as low as -50 F (-46C) were also expected by Tuesday evening through Thursday morning. The service’s Des Moines, Iowa, branch said “dangerous, life-threatening cold air” will hit the Midwestern state from Tuesday morning through Friday morning, with wind chill values on Wednesday likely to range from minus 45 Fahrenheit (minus 43 C) to minus 55 Fahrenheit (minus 48 C) across the northern part of the state. Nearly 2,300 U.S. flights had been canceled and another 11,800 delayed as of Monday evening, many attributed to the storm. Delta Air Lines Inc said it would waive flight change fees for passengers affected by the winter weather in Chicago, Detroit and areas of the Upper Midwest.