Bone-chilling weather blamed for at least 20 deaths nationwide

Authorities have reported at least 20 cold-related deaths across the U.S. since Sunday, as low temperatures continue to grip the Midwest, East Coast and South.

The toll includes seven deaths in Illinois and six in Indiana. At least five people died after collapsing while shoveling snow; several other victims were identified as homeless people who either refused shelter or didn't make it to a warm haven soon enough to save themselves from the bitter temperatures.

In Missouri on Monday, a 1-year-old boy was killed when the car he was riding in struck a snowplow. A 20-year-old woman was killed in a separate crash after her car slid on ice and into the path of a tractor-trailer.

The mercury plunged into the single digits and teens from Boston and New York to Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville and Little Rock. The deep freeze dragged on in the Midwest, with the thermometer reaching minus 12 overnight in the Chicago area and 14 below in suburban St. Louis.

In fact, parts of the Midwest and the East were colder than much of Antarctica. It was 1 degree in Reading, Pa., and 2 degrees in Trenton, N.J. New York City plummeted to 4 degrees, beating the city’s previous record of 6 degrees, set in 1896.

"It's brutal out here," said Spunkiy Jon, who took a break from her sanitation job in New York to smoke a cigarette in the cab of a garbage truck. "Your fingers freeze off after three minutes, your cheeks feel as if you're going to get windburn, and you work as quick as you can."

In Pensacola, Fla., a Gulf Coast city better known for its white-sand beaches than frost, streets normally filled with joggers, bikers and people walking dogs were deserted early Tuesday. Patches of ice sparkled in parking lots where puddles froze Monday night into Tuesday. 

"I'm not used to it. It is best just to stay inside until it gets better," said Monica Anderson, who had to get out for a doctor's appointment.

In an event that forecasters said is actually not all that unusual, every U.S. state — including Hawaii — experienced freezing temperatures at some point on Tuesday.

Many schools and day-care centers across the eastern half of the U.S. closed Tuesday so that youngsters wouldn't be exposed to the dangerous cold. In addition, officials opened shelters for the homeless and anyone else who needed a warm place to stay.

The big chill started in the Midwest over the weekend, caused by a kink in the "polar vortex," the strong winds that circulate around the North Pole, weather officials said. By Tuesday, the icy air covered about half the country, and temperature records shattered like icicles up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

The deep freeze disrupted commutes on Tuesday, with icy or closed roads and flight delays. 

Some 2,380 U.S. flights were canceled and 2,912 delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity.

Airlines scrambled to catch up a day after the cold froze fuel supplies, leading to flight cancellations, many at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Hardest hit were travelers who had booked trips on JetBlue Airways, which on Monday halted its flights at New York's three major airports and Boston Logan International Airport. Flights had resumed by midday on Tuesday.

Impassable snow and ice halted three Chicago-bound Amtrak trains on Monday, stranding more than 500 passengers overnight in northwestern Illinois.

Weather forecasters say that by the end of the week the polar vortex will straighten itself out and states will experience warmer weather — which, for many places at this time of year, means near or above freezing temperatures.

Wire services