A cold wave from Antarctica reached on January 30, 2019 the North of the United States and caused extreme drops in temperature.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the windchill temperature reached:
- minus 51 Celsius in the Great Lakes region and the North of the "Midwest"
- minus 53 Celsius in Northwestern Minnesota
- minus 30 Celsius in Chicago (measured temperature)
The affected States rushed to take urgent actions. Administrations and schools in Michigan closed their doors. The "Metra Electri" trains in Chicago stopped. Approximately 270 centres were adapted to host nearly 16 000 homeless. Air traffic was also disturbed; 2500 flights were cancelled.
The cold weather caused diseases, water and electricity cuts, and many accidents. Hospitals in the State of Illinois, alone, reported more than 220 cases of frostbite and hypothermia. The official toll counts temporarily between 17 and 21 deaths related to this natural catastrophe [4].
Finally, temperature increased on February 1st. The North of the United States finally regained the seasonal temperatures. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued an alert on the risk of flooding due to the quick melting of snow.