US weather: Americans told 'not to breathe deeply or talk' outside as 'deadly' polar vortex causes temperatures to plummet

With dangerously low temperatures comes with beauty. Here’s a shot from outside of downtown Chicago.

With the polar vortex keeping workers at home, the US Postal Service has announced a rare disruption.

Parts of 10 states will not be getting mail as the cold front moves through, a break from the agency’s promise that no weather will keep it from delivering mail to Americans.

Chicago is getting so cold from the polar vortex that workers are literally setting train tracks on fire to keep them from freezing up so badly that trains cannot use them.

Conditions in the American midwest are so cold that officials have warned against breathing too deeply outside, or even talking much while outside.

“Some locations in the Midwest will be below zero continuously for 48-72 hours,” he said

Here’s some footage from North Dakota and Minnesota during an “arctic blast” that made the roads appear white.

Here is some dramatic footage provided by Metra Rail, the commuter rail line in the Chicago area.

Here’s the latest on temperatures from around the country, from news wire services:

Temperatures in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes plunged to as low minus 42 Fahrenheit (minus 41 Celsius) in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and minus 31F in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service. The frigid winds were bound for the U.S. East Coast later on Wednesday into Thursday.

The National Weather Services in Iowa is warning against being, well, chill during the chill.

Here’s a bit from a release from the organization. Stay warm, Iowa.

THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE LIFE-THREATENING COLD AIR!!!This is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced. Thisis not a case of "meh, it`s Iowa during winter and this coldhappens." These are record-breaking cold air temperatures, with windchill values not seen in the 21st century in Iowa.

The cold in Chicago has been accompanied by some power outages, according to local power suppliers.

Around 9,300 customers were reportedly without power, primarily in the city’s suburbs, as of Wednesday afternoon.

Temperatures in the United States are shockingly cold today, but one city so far has claimed today’s record in Minnesota.

Norris Camp in Minnesota saw temperatures drop for three hours to -44C (-48F), with a wind chill bringing the temperatures down to -54C (-68F).

That is the coldest temperature so far recorded in the lower 48 states and colder than Alaska’s North Slope.