Arctic blast leaves half the country in deep freeze

Ice builds up along the shore of Lake Michigan on Jan. 3, 2018 in Chicago.

Record cold temperatures are gripping much of the U.S. and are being blamed on several deaths over the past week.

Ducks sit on sea ice in Boston Harbor on Jan. 3.

Michele King, 26, looks out over frozen Lake Erie on Jan. 3 in Cleveland.

Onlookers gather to photograph and watch the ice that covers Cape Cod Bay on Jan. 3 in Orleans.

A couple stands on a frozen pond at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in Philadelphia on Jan. 3.

A pedestrian walks past a frozen fountain in Atlanta on Jan. 3. 

A brutal winter storm scattered a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain from normally balmy north Florida up the Southeast seaboard Wednesday, adding to the misery of a bitter cold snap.

Icicles hang from a sign in Hilliard on Jan. 3.

The Sunshine State became a winter wonderland Wednesday morning when flakes fell in northern Florida. 

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Penobscot Bay helps break free tug Stephanie Dann from the ice on the Hudson River near Kingston, New York on Jan. 2.

Icicles form on the tritons in the Forsyth Park Fountain on Jan. 2 in Savannah.

Savannah is shivering through a rare bout with icy weather, with the National Weather Service predicting that up to 2 inches of snow and sleet could fall on the typically balmy coastal city.

A layer of ice is broken into pieces floating along the banks of the Hudson River at the Palisades Interstate Park with the George Washington Bridge in the background on Jan. 2 in Fort Lee.

The Northern New Jersey region continued to experienced deep cold weather to start the new year.

Obdulio Arenas uses a cell phone to capture a selfie in front of the partially frozen falls at the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park on Jan. 2. 

Two photographers are silhouetted against the frozen surface of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington as they capture the first sunrise of the new year on Jan. 1.

Water flows over the American Falls as ice forms in this view from the Canadian side in Niagara Falls on Jan. 2.

Almost every year frigid temperatures transform the falls into an icy winter wonderland when the mist is blown back, freezing on the landscape.

Photos: Frozen Niagara Falls stuns visitors who dare to brave bitter cold

Francois langur huddle together to warm up on Jan. 2, at the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park.

A barge cuts through ice on the Ohio River as it passes under the West End Bridge, along the North Shore district in Pittsburgh on Jan. 1.

Steam rises from Lake Superior as the ship St. Clair comes to harbor during some of the coldest temps of the year on Dec. 31, at Canal Park in Duluth.

Kevin Deiner of Erie pushes his Ford Escape out of the deep snow on West Sixth Street on Dec. 30.

A man looks at falling snow in Times Square as a cold weather front hits the region, in Manhattan on Dec. 30.

Timothy Gigone, 51, of Erie, skis south on Sassafras Street near the intersection of West 14th Street on Dec. 30. 

Brendan Rancier pulls a pumpkinseed sunfish from Lackawanna Lake as he jigs for fish under the ice at Lackawanna State Park on Dec. 29.

Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls as cold weather spreads through much of the province on Dec. 29.

A bitter Arctic chill settled across Canada and much of the United States, forcing people indoors, leaving motorists stranded with dead car batteries and complicating firefighting duties.

People pause while walking through a frigid Manhattan on Dec. 28. Dangerously low temperatures and wind chills throughout the central and eastern United States are making outdoor activity difficult for many Americans. Little relief from the below normal temperatures is expected the first week of the New Year.

A baby is protected against the cold in Times Square on Dec. 28.

A person rides through the Lanoraie forest on a dogsled on Dec. 28 in Lanoraie.

Environment Canada increased the number of extreme cold warnings around the country, bulletins issued only when the cold "creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia." The Arctic temperatures are expected to last into early 2018, Environment Canada said.

A pedestrian crosses the street as the temperature hovers in the single-digits on Dec. 28 in downtown Boston.

With temperatures in the single digits, Ray Levesque, mate of the crab/lobster boat Bradbill, makes his way across the deck covered in ice to tie off, after arriving in New Bedford harbor on Dec. 28 from a one day fishing voyage.

Parker Still tries to fish through the ice from a dock at Lake Shawnee in Topeka on Dec. 27.

A pedestrian walks along the Chicago River on Dec. 27 in Chicago.

A man walks his dog across the snow covered beach while a cargo ship sits in the steaming fog of Lake Ontario on Dec. 27.

Erie residents on East 24th Street dig out on Dec. 26 after a record two-day snowfall. The National Weather Service office in Cleveland says the storm brought 34 inches on Christmas Day, a new all-time daily snowfall record for Erie.

Joe and Grace Ferrera cross country ski on South Shore Drive after two days of record-breaking snowfall in Erie on Dec. 27.

Brevillier Village Episcopal Community leaves a plea for the snow to stop after two days of snowfall in Erie on Dec. 27.

With temperatures hovering around zero, a few mountain-goers celebrated the season on the fresh man made snow at Buck Hill in Burnsville on Dec. 26.

Lake Michigan is steaming in the morning as temperatures dipped below zero at North Avenue Beach on Dec. 26 in Chicago.