In case you missed it: Deadly snowstorms pummel eastern, midwestern US as landscapes turn icy following Arctic outbreak
After a river ice jam broke apart in Lincoln, Vermont, on Jan. 24, water quickly carried the massive chunks of ice down the river.
It was a brutally cold few days in the eastern half of the United States this week when temperatures plunged after a weekend snowstorm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings or advisories for part or all of at least 15 states ahead of the storm.
The storm disrupted air travel and caused treacherous, icy driving conditions throughout affected regions. A snowplow driver in Kansas was killed when his vehicle rolled over on the snow-packed roads.
More than 1,500 flights were canceled nationwide on Sunday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking company. Boston’s Logan Airport was among the hardest hit with hundreds of flights delayed or canceled.
In Chicago, a plane skidded from a slick runway at O’Hare International Airport. No injuries were reported, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Snow totals ranged from a few inches to multiple feet of snow in mountainous regions. The storm cut power to tens of thousands across the region as well.
Snow blanketed Chicago on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. (Photo/Dan Eidsmoe)
Immediately after the storm, brutally cold air swept across the entire eastern U.S.
High temperatures were held in the teens in Minneapolis and Chicago during the cold wave.
In Rhode Island, residents were left without power after low pressure disrupted the gas flow on Aquidneck Island. More than 7,000 lost their heat as temperatures dropped near the zero-degree-Fahrenheit mark.
National Grid offered reimbursement for hotel costs, meals and heating costs associated with the gas shutoff, the company said on Twitter.
In North Carolina, alligators were frozen with their noses above water when temperatures dropped to unusual levels.
Nearly 20 alligators at The Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach sensed the water getting colder and colder and pulled up their noses at "just the right time," park employee George Howard said, according to local station WSOC.
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Howard said the alligators did the same thing last January, thawing out after a few days without any injuries.
The freezing conditions led to a majestic sight at Niagara Falls when the water flows partially turned to ice.
It is not abnormal for Niagara Falls to turn into an icy landscape in freezing temperatures. These conditions typically exist in late January and into February. However, Niagara Falls froze in December 2017 due to below-normal temperatures.
Another winter storm blasted the Midwest early this week, slamming the region with snow.
In Kansas, a young woman was killed on I-70 due to a crash on snowy roads, local officials said.
The victim, identified as 19-year-old Ashlen Leigh Lemon, died after her car struck a guardrail. The treacherous conditions closed the highway for hours.
Icy conditions also closed Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Tuesday night, with the airport remaining closed into Wednesday morning.
Hundreds of flights were canceled across the region.
Tragedy struck in Illinois this week when a 12-year-old girl was killed after the snow fort she was playing in collapsed.
Investigators said the 12-year-old and a 9-year-old girl dug the fort Sunday in a snowbank at a church while their parents were attending services inside.
The girl died of asphyxia and hypothermia due to entrapment in a snowbank, according to the medical examiner's office.
An avalanche killed a skier in Aspen, Colorado, early this week.
The avalanche occurred around 10:30 a.m. on local time on Monday in a wilderness area near the Markley Hut, said Alex Burchetta, chief deputy of operations for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim was the only person caught in the snow slide.
Extreme heat has been gripping parts of Australia as the Australian Open takes place in Melbourne.
France's Alize Cornet falls to the court after suffering from the heat during her third round match against Belgium's Elise Mertens at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
Players have been contending with dangerously hot conditions, eventually forcing officials to suspend matches on Friday.
On Thursday, the roof of Rod Laver Arena was closed partway through the semifinal match between Petra Kvitova and Danielle Collins due to the heat.
