- Twenty six states under federal warnings for severe wind chills

- Montana recording a record-making wind chill of -52C (-61F)

- Live blog: life-threatening cold hits North America

Millions of Americans from Montana down to as far south as Alabama are being warned that their lives are at risk if they venture out for any length of time into brutally cold conditions that are driving temperatures to their lowest in 20 years.

Severe weather warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Minnesota and Wisconsin said that wind chills caused by gusts of up to 30 mph were causing temperatures to plummet to between -37C (-35F) and -46C (-50F). "Exposed flesh will freeze and cause frost bite in only five minutes," the warning observed, adding that such dangerous conditions were likely to last until at least Tuesday afternoon.

Twenty six states continue to be under federal warnings for severe wind chills as bitterly cold air is swept down from the Arctic, with Montana recording a wind chill of -52C (-61F). The severe weather has already caused havoc in the Northern Plains and is expected to reach the north-east on Tuesday, extending disruption to airports and travellers. More than 3,000 flights were cancelled on Monday and Chicago's O'Hare International airport has been particularly badly affected.

Investigation to take a few days

AltaLink is investigating reports about dozens of dead ducks near one of its transmission lines in southwest Alberta.

McIntyre estimates the deaths may be in the hundreds based on a 10-minute walk along the line he took on Dec. 31.

Judging from the damage to ducks, he thinks they may be hitting the line in bad weather when they can't see it.

The company is sending workers to an area near Pincher Creek and may install "flappers" to help make the lines more visible.

Director Scott Schreiner says it appears it happened near an existing line and not near one of the new transmission lines under construction.

"We've sent a team of environmental experts from AltaLink and external providers down to investigate.

Mysterious mass starfish deaths along the Pacific coastline have marine biologists scratching their heads and scrambling to find a cause.

They're also worried about how seastar wasting syndrome will affect ecosystems spanning Alaska to California, including those in the Greater Victoria area.

"We've seen it all along the Saanich Inlet, we've seen it around the Gulf Islands, it started in Howe Sound," said marine biologist Paula Romagosa, curator of Sidney's Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.

"It's quite serious. Nothing like this has been seen before, not to this extent."

Just what it is that's wiping out about 30 per cent of the coast's observable starfish is still unknown.

"I'm quite scared, to be honest. We can't figure out what it is, so there's no way to control it - or know if it'll affect our food sources like fish."

Affected populations including sunflower, sun, basket, leather, pink, common purple, vermillion, and blood stars are dying.

Biologists still do not know what caused the deaths of either of two True's beaked whales that washed up over Sunday and Monday.

Biologists at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation have come across two rare cases of True's beaked whales turning up dead on Long Island beaches.

Just before 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, the Riverhead Foundation was contacted about a large dolphin thrashing in the surf near Flying Point Beach in Southampton. Using photographs sent from the scene, biologists identified the creature as a rare True's beaked whale. A passerby attempted to push the whale back into the water, but it beached itself a second time near Gin Lane and was found dead when the Riverhead Foundation arrived.

The female whale was about 15 and a half feet long, and weighed an estimated 2,000 pounds. The Highway Supervisor for the Village of Southampton, John Brostowski, helped the members of the Riverhead Foundation transport the deceased whale back to the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center, where a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Before biologists could even determine what killed the True's beaked whale - a whale that many biologists on Long Island never see - a call came in about a second whale of the same species that washed up on a beach in Bridgehampton. The second whale, a male, was approximately 9 feet long and weighed an estimated 400 pounds.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), True's beaked whales prefer the deep warm temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, making it odd that they would appear in the colder waters around Long Island. True's beaked whales are difficult to observe and identify at sea due to a low profile at the surface, and few of these whales have ever been spotted alive in the water.

Officials at the Riverhead Foundation will be performing necropsies on both of the whales.

Source: Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, NOAA

Foot and mouth disease has claimed lives of over 4,700 cattle in Kerala after its outbreak a few months ago, State Agriculture Minister KP Mohanan told the state Assembly on Monday.

Replying to a submission in this regard, he said that the disease is now under control due to the effective remedial steps taken by the government.

A sum of Rs1.9 crore has been distributed to farmers who lost cattle as compensation. Rs 20 lakh has been allotted to districts to initiate measures to check spread of disease, he added.

Free treatment and vaccination is being carried out as part of the measures, he added.

"Excessively high temperatures" are "already" harming public health nationwide, Pres. Obama declared on Nov. 1, 2013, two months before today's assault by record low temperatures.

In his executive order on climate change, Obama warned that too much rain - and not enough rain - also dictated that executive action against climate fluctuations:

"The impacts of climate change -- including an increase in prolonged periods of excessively high temperatures, more heavy downpours, an increase in wildfires, more severe droughts, permafrost thawing, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise -- are already affecting communities, natural resources, ecosystems, economies, and public health across the Nation. These impacts are often most significant for communities that already face economic or health-related challenges, and for species and habitats that are already facing other pressures."

Geologists and geophysicists say that Mount Toba, which erupted thousands of years ago, turning into Lake Toba, still contains a dangerous magma chamber and its activity needs further study. Indonesia Geological Experts Association president Rovicky Dwi Putrohari said the magma chamber could be observed in a study conducted by researchers recently. Rovicky added that researchers used the tomography method to detect the magma chamber.

Researchers said the Mount Toba magma chamber was located at a depth of between 20 kilometers and 100 kilometers.

"The method was used in the early stage of the study. Our researchers were able to find the location and dimensions of the magma chamber of Mount Toba. Later research will find out the potential volume of magma in the volcano for triggering an eruption," Rovicky told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a joint conference between the Indonesian Geological Experts Association and Indonesian Geophysics Experts Association in Medan, North Sumatra, recently.

Around 800 geologists and geophysicists took part in the conference, including scientists from Australia, France, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Rovicky said that during the three-day conference several studies related to the Mount Toba eruption were presented by experts, including Craig A. Chesner, from the Eastern Illinois University in the US.

Rovicky explained that based on Chesner's study in 2011, it was concluded that the current Lake Toba was the result of four previous eruptions.

Mount Marapi in West Sumatra expelled thin grey smoke up to 200 meters from the crater into the sky, on Wednesday morning, stated spokesman of the Bukittinggi Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVBMG) Warseno.

"The volcano spewed smoke after it showed signs of increased activity at 7.28 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Local residents should therefore, continue to stay alert," he warned.

The volcano, located in the Tanahdatar and Agam districts, West Sumatra, remains on the second highest alert level.

A pair of conjoined gray whales has been found off the shore of Mexico, in what could be the first documented case of Siamese twin grey whales.

Scientists in Mexico's Laguna Ojo de Liebre, or Scammon's Lagoon, discovered the dead calves, believed to have been miscarried as a result of their disability.

Conjoined twins have occurred in other species, notably fin, sei and minke whales, however, research has not found any published cases of conjoined gray whale twins.

With temperatures in Chicago hobbling above zero for the first time in 37 hours Tuesday afternoon, it appears some relief is finally within sight for the Windy City.
But while "ChiBeria" will soon be a thing of the past, we'll still have some incredibly remarkable photos to show for the bitterly cold, icy, undeniably unpleasant series of days.

Thanks for the memories, polar vortex.