© AP /Chuck Burton
Water squirts from a frozen fountain near downtown in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Temperatures plummeted overnight to 2 degrees in the north Georgia mountains, 14 in Atlanta and 26 as far south as New Orleans as the Gulf Coast felt more like Green Bay.
Dangerously cold temperatures blamed for at least nine deaths have wreaked havoc across a wide swath of the U.S., freezing a water tower in Iowa, halting ferry service in New York and
leading officials to open warming centers even in the Deep South.
The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings Tuesday covering a vast area from South Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England.
Indianapolis early Tuesday tied a record low of minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-24 Celsius) for Jan. 2 set in 1887, leading Indianapolis Public Schools to cancel classes.
And the northwest Indiana city of Lafayette got down to minus 19 (-28 Celsius), shattering the previous record of minus 5 (-21 Celsius) for the date, set in 1979, the National Weather Service said. After residents there began complaining of a hum, Duke Energy said it was caused by extra power surging through utility lines to meet electricity demands.
Comment: Update - Wed, 3rd Jan:
Storm Eleanor has lashed the UK with violent storm-force winds of up to 100mph, leaving thousands of homes without power and hitting transport links. Widespread disruption is expected today after the storm swept across the country overnight carrying heavy rain, hail and dramatic thunder and lightning. Several major bridges were closed due to high winds and there were numerous reports of fallen trees blocking roads including the M25.
In Ireland the storm left around 55,000 homes without electricity, while the west coast was hit by widespread flooding and 140kph winds.
The French weather service has placed most of north and eastern France on alert for wild weather as Storm Eleanor looks set to lash the country with winds of up to 120km/h. Some 65,000 homes were without power in France's western regions of Brittany, Pays-de-la-Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine due to winter storm Carmen which hit on Monday.