Deadly cold hits US East for second day

BITTERLY cold temperatures have continued for a second day in the eastern half of the US.

A number of record lows were broken on Thursday, including in Washington, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Midwest temperatures dropped to -40C (-40F).

The cold has been blamed for at least 19 deaths, many in Tennessee where temperatures were far lower than usual.

Forecasters say some areas will see sleet and freezing rain as temperatures warm up slightly over the weekend.

Ontario and parts of Quebec were also under extreme cold warnings – with the wind-chill making temperatures feel like -29C in Toronto and -45C in northern Ontario.

In Toronto, a three-year-old boy died on Thursday after being lost for hours wearing only a T-shirt, nappy and boots.

Elijah Marsh was found a few hundred metres away from his home in temperatures of -19C but died in hospital.

The extreme cold has also frozen parts of the Hudson river near New York City, with a tugboat brought in to break up the ice.

In the US Midwest, a majority of Lake Michigan and 98% of Lake Erie were frozen over.

Chicago reopened its schools on Friday after closing the day before due to wind-chill temperatures as low as -34C.

Schools in the Waterloo region outside Toronto were also closed because of the cold on Friday.

About 3,000 people were still without electricity in Tennessee on Friday down from 30,000. Eleven deaths are being blamed on the cold in the state , including six from hypothermia.

In western Pennsylvania, temperatures dipped to minus -28C, without the wind chill.

And further north in the mid-western state of Minnesota, temperatures dropped to -41C.