Historic deep freeze to hit US northeast as ice storm subsides in south

historic us

A record-breaking deep freeze is expected in the northeast US as thousands in the country’s south remain without power after a deadly ice storm. The cold blast could bring “once-in-a-generation” wind chills that cause frostbite in less than 10 minutes, the National Weather Service warned. Residents from Pennsylvania to Maine are being urged to limit their time outdoors through Friday and Saturday. Boston, which is anticipating sub-zero wind chills, is under a cold emergency. “I urge all Boston residents to take precautions, stay warm and safe, and check on your neighbours,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement.  Temperatures in New York City and other major cities are also expected to bottom out in the single digits (Fahrenheit, around -13C to -17C) by Saturday, although forecasters predict they will rebound by the end of the weekend. At least eight people have died in the bad weather across the US south over the past several days. More than 500,000 people were without power as of Thursday afternoon in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, according to poweroutage.us.(BBC)…[+]