© ReutersMorning commuters walk through a snow covered Times Square in New York
There are even fears that crowds planning to watch Barack Obama's presidential inauguration next week could suffer hypothermia and frostbite in sub-zero conditions.
This winter has been one of the toughest in decades with temperatures today reaching as low as -38C in large areas of the Midwest and -40C in the coldest place.
But even on the east coast - where conditions are typically milder than the fridgid hinterlands - the icy blast was being felt.
New York endured a -14C chill today and further south Washington - which hosts Mr Obama's inauguration on Tuesday - plunged to 11 degrees below zero.
© ReutersWinter fun: A father pulls his son to school in New York in -14C conditions
Some places have recorded record lows - with the temperature in Flint, Michigan dipping to an incredible -28C.
Bone-chilling winds - known as the Alberta Clipper after a Canadian province - have also led to record snowfall
Chicago has suffered the most consecutive days of snowfall since records began in 1884 after enduring nine days of blizzards.
But it's not just the northern part of the nation feeling the freeze.
By tomorrow, the Gulf Coast states will face a hard freeze with temperatures around -6C in places like Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is on the same latitude as Tunisia.
But there are parts of the U.S. that aren't freezing and fighting Jack Frost.
The west coast is seeing some summerlike beach weather.
San Fernando, California, clocked a 32C high and Southern California temperatures will remain warm thanks to a lingering high pressure system.
© APA lone pedestrian walks past a sign warning about falling ice in downtown Chicago
Overnight, the city had temperatures approaching -40C with chills making it feel like -60C.
'It's kind of raw. It really cuts your skin,' said Belmer Cole who maintains an outdoor high school ice rink in the city.
The colder temperatures make the ice dry and brittle, which makes skating tougher.
'When the ice gets this cold, and the temperature this cold, the puck freezes to the point where if it hits a goal post, sometimes the puck would break into pieces,' said International Falls High School hockey coach John Prettyman.
But residents of International Falls are used to bitter weather. It's a way of life for them, especially the ice fishermen.
'I'm still standing here. Parts aren't falling off yet. There's really no bad weather, just bad clothes,' said Woody Woods.
© APDave Mangin braves sub-zero temperatures as he walks along the shore of Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee
'The problem is that cold hurts you much more rapidly and more uniformly. You can put a number of folks in the desert, many of them will do fine,' said Wallace Carter, of New York Presbyterian Hospital.
'You can take 10 people, put them out in sub-zero weather and they will all start to have serious side effects and will ultimately die.
'Most people think that they are well prepared and in fact they're not well prepared. People underestimate how incredibly insidious and violent cold temperature is.'
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