As parts of the US is considered colder than Mars some remarkable stat's are being banded around the net as some weather forecasters predict the cold will last well into January.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said it had found three dead thresher sharks frozen to death on the shore of the Cape Cod Bay in Brewster, south of Boston, in the last three days.
Glass windows were said to be cracking on Chicago's new Apple building from the extreme cold temperatures.
Low temperatures in the minus 40 deg F (-40 deg C) have been recorded in northern Minnesota this week.
According to the Weather Channel, the long-lived Arctic cold outbreak will be reinforced this New Year's weekend in the Plains, Midwest, South and East, shattering more daily records into the first days of 2018.
As some cities are forecast to have their coldest new years eve ever many have cancelled celebrations.
Niagara Falls has turned to ice as temperatures plummet to record-breaking lows.
The Sun reports, it is set to be the coldest New Year in living memory as 220 million Americans wrap up to face lows of -37 degrees Celsius.
The crippling cold has brought transit systems grinding to a halt in Boston while there were 30 crashes in one Michigan county alone on Friday morning due to treacherous icy roads.
Fountains froze over in New York where New Years Eve partygoers are being warned to lay off the booze and bring some hand warmers to see the famous big ball drop in Times Square as forecasters say it will hit -11C.
A temperature of -35C was recorded in Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire — the highest peak in the northeastern United States — breaking a record set back in 1933.
With temperatures colder than domestic freezers, data from the Curiosity Rover, which is roaming the red planet, showed temperatures on Mars reached a comparatively balmy -23C on December 20.
And with temperatures around -21 deg C today the North Pole is actually warmer than parts of the US.
Dress in layers, lay off the booze and bring some hand warmers. Those are some of the tips offered for the huge crowd of revelers expected in Times Square for what could be one of the coldest New Year’s Eve ball drops on record.
Brutal weather has iced plans for scores of events in the Northeast from New Year’s Eve through New Year’s Day, but not in New York City, where people will start gathering in Times Square up to nine hours before the famous ball drop.
“Hundreds of thousands have withstood very cold weather over the years for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we expect this year to be no different,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance which puts on the event.
The coldest New Year’s Eve in Times Square came in 1917, when it was 1 degree at midnight. This year, the forecast is for 11 degrees with a wind chill around zero, which would tie for second with 1962.
City and state health officials are advising people to cover all exposed skin, and wear a hat, scarf and gloves. Drinking alcohol is discouraged because it causes the body to lose heat faster.
Extra New York Fire Department personnel are going to be on hand to provide medical support and a National Weather Service meteorologist will be on site with the city’s emergency management officials to monitor weather conditions.
In other areas gripped by the cold, some events are being canceled or reconsidered. The annual Lobster Dip at Old Orchard Beach in Maine has been rescheduled for the first time in 30 years.
Organizers of the Penguin Plunge in Narragansett, Rhode Island, say it’s still on for New Year’s Day but advised the thousands of expected participants to “use their good judgment” and avoid taking the plunge if they have a medical condition or have been sick.
With temperatures only expected to reach 9 degrees in Springfield, Illinois, on Sunday, organizers of its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display have decided to cancel this year’s show. Officials say they plan to reschedule it for a warmer date.
In Ohio where some communities saw digit temperatures on Saturday, fireworks have been canceled and events moved inside in Miami Township and the New Year’s Eve ball drop and other activities in New Carlisle have been reduced to an hour.
Despite the drawn-out deep freeze across Pennsylvania, officials said Saturday the annual New Year’s Day Mummers Parade will still be held. The event features thousands of performers in colorful costumes adorned with sequins and feathers strutting through Philadelphia’s streets.
The village of Orchard Park
near Buffalo, New York, has canceled its New Year’s Eve event because subzero temperatures have been forecast. “With frigid weather, the chance of a water line break is higher, and I’d rather have my public works crew fixing it than hoisting a ball up to drop,” said Mayor Jo Ann Litwin Clinton.
Cold air rivaling that of the past 100 years for late December and early January will make it painful to be outdoors and may lead to damage in the central and northeastern Unites States.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are projected to be below zero over much of the Northeast and well below zero in much of the Midwest.
In the coming days, RealFeel temperatures 5 to 20 degrees below zero will be common. In the northern tier, RealFeel temperatures may dip as low as 30 to 40 degrees below zero.
Most low temperature records from the northern and central Plains to the mid-Atlantic and New England are likely to remain in tact.
However, in terms of the level of cold, actual temperatures in many locations will be in the lower 5 percentile for all years on record for late December and early January, according to the National Weather Service.
Standout years for record cold in the Northeast at this point in the season were in 1880-81 and 1917-18. In the Midwest, the years 1967-68 and 1973-74 left a mark with subzero F cold.
"While the level of cold will vary from one day to the next, indications are that the frigid weather will linger through the first week of January in the Central and Eastern states," according to AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Max Vido.
"It may not be until toward the second or third week of the month before many areas get above the freezing mark for a time," Vido said.
There is also the chance the severe cold may help spin up a storm on the coast during the first week of 2018.
The severity and persistence of the cold blast may take a toll on the homeless population.
Energy demands will skyrocket. Household heating budgets may take a huge hit.
Climate change got its close-up in 2017. A gaggle of films either name-checked Al Gore’s biggest fear or built their narratives around it.
The timing, in theory, couldn’t be better for Hollywood bean counters: Three major hurricanes. Massive fires in the West. Record-setting chills. Media reports routinely connected the disasters with a warming planet.
Yet audiences stayed away from films influenced by eco-concerns. Far, far away.
Think “Blade Runner 2049,” “Geostorm,” “Downsizing,” “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” and “mother!” They all flopped, some in spectacular fashion.
Mr. Gore’s sequel to his documentary smash “An Inconvenient Truth” paid the most attention to climate change, of course. The 2006 original scored with audiences and Oscar voters, earning best documentary honors. The sequel snared a fraction of the first film’s tally: $3 million versus $24 million. That’s despite massive media attention, mostly fawning reviews and promotion from eco-conscious stars such as Paul McCartney, Bono and Pharrell Williams.
Documentaries rarely make serious coin at the box office, but the drop was massive.
“Geostorm” promised B-movie thrills with a tale of the Earth’s weather run amok. Audiences typically adore disaster films — the cheesier, the better. So what happened? The movie raked in $33 million from a reported $120 million budget.
“Downsizing,” a rare flop from director Alexander Payne (“About Schmidt”), envisioned a future in which people can shrink themselves to the height of a grapefruit. That fueled some cheeky social commentary and a recurring message about the world’s dwindling resources.
“Mother!” and “Blade Runner 2049” touched on climate change in more subtle ways.
Is there a connection among the flops, or is Hollywood circa 2017 more unpredictable than ever?
Justin Haskins, executive editor at the right-leaning, free-market Heartland Institute, said Hollywood insiders remain fixated on saving the planet.
“They believe climate change will bring people to the movies,” Mr. Haskins said. “That’s wildly out of touch with how moviegoers feel about the issue.”
A Pew Research survey this year found that “the environment” does not rank among the top 10 public policy concerns of most Americans, trailing behind “terrorism,” “the economy,” “education” and “jobs,” among others.
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