The deep freeze will cover such a huge area that it will be felt by 212 million people — some 72 percent of the US population
FORECASTERS are warning residents to "avoid taking deep breaths" as a -60C Midwest wind chill brings temperatures lower than Antarctica.
At least five people have been reported dead across several states as a polar vortex forced a state of emergency in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
The deep freeze will cover such a huge area that it will be felt by 212 million people — some 72 percent of the US population — from the Dakotas to Long Island.
John Gagan, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist, said: "The intensity of this cold air, I would say, is once in a generation."
While weather officials in Iowa have warned people to "avoid taking deep breaths, and to minimise talking".
The NWS has warned that frostbite is possible within just ten minutes of being outside in such extreme temperatures.
In Chicago, where thieves were seen mugging residents for expensive warm coats, police stations have opened their doors to the homeless.
Historic cold, unprecedented cold, these are all adjectives you could use to describe this. These are some of the coldest temperatures an entire generation has ever felt
Kathryn Prociv, NBC meteorologist
Reuters reports that hundreds of schools have been closed in the affected states and more than 2,000 flights cancelled.
"Historic cold, unprecedented cold, these are all adjectives you could use to describe this," said Kathryn Prociv, a meteorologist for NBC News.
"These are some of the coldest temperatures an entire generation has ever felt, talking about the millennials," Prociv said.
"A lot of these temperatures will be the coldest since about 1994, when a lot of them were just being born."
The bitter cold is being carried by the polar vortex, a stream of air that spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole, but whose current has been disrupted and is now pushing south.
Including the wind chill factor, parts of the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Minnesota could see life-threatening temperatures as low as 75F (60C) below zero on Wednesday, forecasters said.
Meanwhile people are busy stocking on milk, bread and gas in a battle to stay warm.
Farmers are also struggling in the conditions, and have been busy providing pigs with extra rations and building igloos to keep their chickens safe.
In Wisconsin, where temperatures were heading toward -34C dairy farmer Amber McComish and her family stocked up on extra fuel for the generator for their milking barn, tucked the baby calves into a heated room and made sure all the animals had food and water.
Not everywhere in the US is stuck in a deep freeze, however, with those in Florida enjoying balmy 20C temperatures.
US President Donald Trump drew controversy with his reaction to the freezing conditions, urging global warming to "come back fast" in a bizarre tweet.
One of the US government's own meteorological agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, patiently explained that winter storms do NOT prove that global warming isn't happening - and that severe snowstorms may even be more likely because of climate change.
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