Midwest temperature updates as of 11 a.m. ET
- Chicago checks in at minus 21
- Minneapolis is at minus 26
- Cleveland is at minus 1
- Bismarck, North Dakota is at minus 31
Thanks for following along with our live updates. We will be continuing our coverage in articles outside of this blog, so please keep reading NBCNews.com.
While residents in Chicago hunker down indoors during the Polar Vortex, one good Samaritan offered to help shelter 70 homeless people after the Chicago Fire Department had to confiscate nearly 100 propane tanks that were donated to the group to keep them warm.
Officials with the fire department said the tanks had to be taken away after one exploded.
The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division in Illinois was contacted by the fire department about the group and were in the process of making arrangements for them to go to a warming center when the fire department told them that someone had offered to help by paying for hotel rooms.
Jacqueline Rachev, a spokeswoman for the organization, said she is not sure of the person’s identity.
The anonymous good Samaritan isn’t the only person trying to help the homeless during the deep freeze. Khloe Thompson, an 11-year-old girl in California, started a GoFundMe account Tuesday to raise money for Chicago’s Salvation Army, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
As of Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised more than $48,000.
“I’ve watched the news about the polar vortex and I’ve seen how cold it’s getting across the country, especially in Chicago,” Thompson said in the GoFundMe. “The homeless population needs our help."
More than 1,700 flights were canceled Thursday at Chicago's main airports.
At least 1,479 cancellations and 90 delays were reported at Chicago O'Hare International Airport as of 1:45 p.m., according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. There were 258 cancellations at Chicago Midway International Airport. Delays at both airports were less than 15 minutes for flights still operating, the Chicago Department of Aviation reported.
Relief is coming.
Some regions affected by the polar vortex are going to feel downright balmy in just a few days.
"There‘s going to be a 60 degree temperature rise" in some areas of the Midwest, said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather predictions center. "It is pretty remarkable," he said.
Carbin said that following this "pretty dramatic turnaround," temperatures are expected to fall again later in the week. But don't worry. "It’s not going to be quite as cold," Carbin said.
Two young children in Illinois were found walking alone outside of their apartment building in the freezing temperatures, a spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
The children, a 3-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl, were found just after 2 p.m. Wednesday in the village of Arlington Heights. One child wasn’t properly dressed for the weather, the sheriff’s department said in a press release.
Temperatures Wednesday afternoon dropped to around minus 12, according to the National Weather Service.
Both children were crying and “had some skin redness” when they were found. They were taken to a local hospital to be treated for weather-related injuries.
“They appear to be OK,” a spokesperson said.
The sheriff’s office said it is investigating why the children were left out in the cold. So far, no arrests have been made.
A 26-year-old mother in Lawrence, Kansas, was arrested early Wednesday morning for allegedly leaving her children, ages 2 and 3, in a car with no heat, the Lawrence Police Department said in a tweet.
The woman, whose name was not released, was allegedly kicked out of the Playerz Sports Bar around 1:40 a.m., the department said in a press release.
Police were called when the woman tried to get back into the bar.
By the time police arrived, the woman had left the bar in her car but officers later found her. She was arrested on charges of aggravated endangering a child and operating a vehicle under the influence.
Authorities said the children, who were not injured, were left in the cold car "for a substantial amount of time." Temperatures in that area Wednesday morning was around 5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
"We can’t stress enough how dangerous this cold is. Please take proper precautions, and use common sense," the police department said in a tweet.
Amazon said it closed some buildings, including fulfillment centers across the Midwest.
“We work hard to deliver on our fast, free shipping promise, but weather conditions are out of our control,” Amazon said in a statement. “Customer service is available to work with any customer who is experiencing an issue.”
The deep freeze isn't over just yet. Here's the latest in cities across the Midwest and Northeast as of 10:15 a.m CST (11:15 a.m.):
The cold weather didn't let up Thursday morning as the misery polar vortex spread to the Northeast.
Here's how cold it was as people commuted to work at 8 a.m. CST (9 a.m. EST) Thursday.
The COLD continues to ravage the middle and northeastern portions of the country Thursday, with more records falling this morning.
A new all-time record of minus 29 was set in Moline, Illinois, and it’s minus 33 in Aurora, Illinois, (just outside Chicago) Thursday morning. The state record of minus 36F is now within reach. Another 90 daily cold records could be set today!
Right now, 120 million people across 27 states are under wind chill warnings or wind chill advisories, stretching from the Upper Midwest over to Maine and down to part of North Carolina.
Wind chills will not be quite as cold as Wednesday, but are still absolutely brutal across the Midwest and Northeast. Chicago’s wind chill is back down into the minus 40s this morning.
NYC is hovering around 15 below zero.
Chicago once again won’t rise above zero for their high Thursday. They’ve now been below zero for 48 hours. The forecast for Thursday is minus 4. Over in the Northeast, highs will be in the teens.
Thursday’s high with wind chills
NYC: 17/below zero or near zero
Boston: 16/below zero maybe even into the sub-zero teens
DC: 10/minus 3
Minneapolis: minus 23/minus 23
Chicago: minus 20/minus 37
Friday's high with wind chills
Minneapolis: 20/single digits
Chicago: 23/teens
NYC: 20s/teens
Boston: 20/10
RELIEF IS IN SIGHT!
A potentially record-setting rebound is about to play out across the Midwest and even part of the Northeast, where temps will jump 40-70 degrees between Wednesday and Sunday.
The following locations, broken down by the three-digit zip codes, will not receive mail deliveries on Thursday.
Source of locations: USPS