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

The US is experiencing some of the coldest weather in decades

A woman cross country skis in front of the US Capitol as snow continues to fall in Washington, DC (AFP/Getty)

Parts of America are facing temperatures colder than Antarctica this week, as a cold front sweeps through the upper midwest.

US officials are urging residents from northern states to stay inside as the deep freeze sets in across the county, bringing with it life-threatening conditions.

A blast of Arctic air from the polar vortex is causing temperatures to drop as low as -40C (-40F), and in some cases even colder.

Read below for our coverage of the weather on Wednesday, as it happened

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[30 January 2019 15:12 · Lucy Anna Gray]

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the extreme weather parts of the United States are currently experiencing.

[30 January 2019 15:16 · Clark Mindock]

[30 January 2019 15:17 · Clark Mindock]

[30 January 2019 15:40 · Clark Mindock]

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

[30 January 2019 16:00 · Clark Mindock]

[30 January 2019 16:20 · Clark Mindock]

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.

[30 January 2019 16:40 · Clark Mindock]

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.

[30 January 2019 17:00 · Clark Mindock]

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

It could be, for some generations in the midwest, the first time that this amount of cold has been felt, AccuWeater meteorologist Mike Doll told USA Today:

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

But the worst is yet to come, Doll said. “I cannot stress how dangerously cold it will be,” he said. “An entire generation has gone by without experiencing this type of cold.”

[30 January 2019 17:10 · Clark Mindock]

[30 January 2019 17:20 · Clark Mindock]

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