Chicago is experiencing one of its coldest days ever with freezing temperatures of minus 27 degrees Celsius.
The winter storm has been named Jayden and is also causing major delays in air traffic.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled in the last 24 hours.
A historic cold snap has hit several states in the central United States – and hard. Temperatures have fallen to a breathtaking 27 degrees below zero since Monday, and the National Weather Service NWS is warning that frostbite can occur on bare skin after just 10 minutes outdoors, reports the Chicago Sun.
Warming centers have been set up around the city and it is feared that several people will freeze to death during Jayden's advance.
The cold has also affected airports, which have had major problems with delays and canceled flights throughout the week.
Over the past 24 hours, 504 flights were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and 162 were canceled at Midway International. Over the past week, a total of more than 1,000 flights have been canceled in the United States.
For American Airlines and United Airlines, the cold means that about a third of their flights are canceled, CNBC reports.
American canceled 225 flights on Tuesday and another 185 on Wednesday due to the low temperatures. In a statement, the company explained that the reason was the ”extreme” temperatures.
The disruptions at Chicago airports are in turn causing delays at several other US airports.
Airplanes can generally take off despite very low temperatures, but the extreme cold is all the more difficult for the personnel working on the runway.
Workers on the runway need to take more breaks to stay warm, and de-icing the aircraft's wings is a time-consuming process that often creates delays.
Source: aftonbladet.se
