Extreme weather events are becoming more and more common, with records shattered down under during Australia’s recent heatwave, and now, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the ‘polar vortex’ bearing down on Midwestern U.S.
The polar vortex is a band of strong winds, high up in the atmosphere that keeps bitterly cold air locked around the Arctic region. Sometimes, like this year, it can drift further south than usual and envelop highly populated areas of North America. Chigaco has been particularly hard hit, with its notoriously windy location on Lake Michigan bringing wind-chill temperatures down to record-breaking lows.
With much of the Midwest on lockdown and people urged to stay indoors, some people have been braving the plunging temperatures to take incredible images of the effects that the vortex is having on their daily lives. From exploding toilets to icy hairstyles, this list compiled by Bored Panda will give you chills just from looking at it!
#1 How Cold Is It In The Midwest? Bubbles Are Freezing
#2 What Happens When You Blow Bubbles In A Freezing Weather
#3 Meanwhile In Minnesota. The Tank Exploded
#4 My Brother Was On One Of The Few Flights Into Chicago This Morning. He Took This Photo Of Frozen Lake Michigan From The Plane
#5 It’s So Cold In Chicago They Set Commuter Train Tracks On Fire To Warm Them
#6 Trying To Make The Most Of This -40 F Weather
#7 Landlord Decided To Turn Down The Heat Today In My MN Apartment As It Reached -40°
#8 Meanwhile In Wisconsin
#9 Freezing Our Pants Off In Minnesota
#10 My God. We’ve Reached The Day After Tomorrow
#11 My Sister Opened Her Car Door In Chicago
#12 A Firefighter After Working In The -40° Polar Vortex
#13 Pray For The Homeless During This Time! Give To Your Local Shelters. Most Are At Full Capacity
14 I Just Wanted To See How Long It Would Take For An Egg To Freeze Outside And Also What Would Become Of My Egg
#15 Letting My Car Heat Up During The Polar Vortex
#16 Going To Daycare When It’s -30 Outside
#17 Minnesota’s Officers
#18 When These Are The Inside Doors… You Know We Are Polar Vortexing
#19 We Had A House Fire South Of Cameron Today. Our Chief Mitch Hansen Thought It Was A Splash Park
#20 Polar Vortex (Temp. 16 F /-9 C)
#21 The Detroit River, Frozen All The Way To Canada
#22 Got So Cold Last Night That Our Vodka Froze! For Reference The Freezing Point For Vodka Is -16
#23 The Beauty The Cold Brings To South Dakota
#24 My Wall Is Freezing In My Bedroom. There Are No Pipes Behind It. Chicago
