Washington, Jan 2: A numbing cold wave has gripped much of the US, from the Midwest to the northeast, leading to at least three deaths as the New Year began. Dangerously low temperatures enveloped eight Midwest states including parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska along with nearly all of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, the US National Weather Service said.
Hard freeze warnings will remain in effect from Texas to northern Florida, it said. Temperatures will get even colder at the end of the week and into the weekend in the Great Lakes region and parts of the northeast, CNN reported The southeast will remain 10 to 15 degrees below average temperatures through the weekend. Temperatures plunged below zero in the Midwest, including in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the mercury dropped to a record-breaking minus -36 degree Celsius. In Omaha, Nebraska, -26 degree Celsius was recorded before midnight Sunday, breaking the lowest record dating back to 1884, and the temperature was still dropping.
IANS
