US cold weather chaos kills at least 18 people

Street crews dug out snow-clogged roads across the US northeast on Friday after a powerful blizzard, with temperatures set to plunge further during a brutal cold spell that has already killed at least 18 people.

From Baltimore to Caribou, Maine, workers battled to clear snow and ice as wind chills were forecast to fall as low as –40 degrees Celsius in some areas after sundown, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chill describes the combined effect of wind and low temperatures on bare skin.

In the latest fatality blamed on the weather, a vehicle slid off an icy road early on Friday in North Charleston, South Carolina, killing a pedestrian, city officials said.

“THE DANGERS ARE REAL,” the officials warned in a Twitter message. “Huge patches of ice all over the city. Stay at home.”

On Friday, Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor, declared a state of emergency for the city and neighbouring counties.

The fierce cold will reach from New England to the midwest and down to the Carolinas, forecasters warned, adding that low-temperature records could be broken across the region in the coming days.