[ti:Extreme Cold Freezes Much of United States] [ar:Steve Embe] [al:In The News] [by:www.51voa.com] [04:54.66][00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com [00:04.15]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.85]this is In the News. [00:09.05]A weather system known as a polar vortex [00:13.11]brought dangerously cold weather [00:16.07]to large parts of the United States this week. [00:20.22]A polar vortex is a cold, thick low pressure system. [00:25.74]The air turns counter-clockwise when on the move. [00:30.18]The polar vortex started up in Canada. [00:34.24]After crossing the border, [00:36.59]it moved deep into the southeastern United States. [00:41.39]The polar vortex brought the coldest temperatures [00:45.49]in more than 20 years to many areas. [00:49.54]Anise Jenkins lives in Washington, DC. [00:53.59]"I have a coat on. I have three sweaters. [00:56.50]I have two blouses. I have a thermal on [00:59.37]and I don't feel like I have anything on." [01:01.37]Another woman, named Amanda, lives nearby in Maryland. [01:06.43]"It's DC. It's not supposed to be this cold." [01:09.43]The weather was also a shock to visitors from overseas. [01:14.50]Deepak from India was visiting his sister in New York. [01:19.65]"Tears just come out from my eyes [01:21.71]and my head inside like a freezer. [01:24.42]Oh, my God. Oh, my God." [01:28.22]The extreme weather started [01:30.38]with a low-pressure system near the North Pole. [01:33.88]The Arctic air was pushed as far south as Alabama [01:38.45]on wind currents known as the jet stream. [01:42.26]The bitter cold covered much of the central United States, [01:47.36]forcing schools, government offices and businesses to close. [01:53.18]Camden Walker is a reporter for the Washington Post. [01:58.18]He is part of the newspaper's Capital Weather Gang, [02:02.09]which limits its reporting to the weather. [02:05.40]"When the jet stream came south, [02:06.96]the floodgates opened from the north [02:08.51]and we had a direct flow from the Arctic." [02:10.96]But the polar vortex did not have the same effect everywhere. [02:15.71]"Interestingly enough, it is warmer in Alaska [02:18.57]and also somewhat warmer over Greenland [02:20.95]because when you deplete the North Pole [02:24.91]and the Arctic region of its cold air, [02:26.87]when it's forced southward, [02:28.83]it can't all stay there. [02:30.13]Basically it's a bubble that is draining toward us. [02:32.53]It is rushing towards us in the United States." [02:34.39]Camden Walker says the weather system moved away quickly [02:38.44]from places like Washington. [02:40.64]But the cold air and high winds were staying longer [02:45.79]in the middle of the country. [02:47.80]At least 20 deaths were blamed on the cold weather nationwide. [02:53.60]Health experts said people should go outside buildings [02:58.15]for only 10 to 20 minutes at a time. [03:01.64]They warned that being outside in such cold can cause frostbite. [03:08.63]This condition may cause exposed parts of the body to freeze. [03:14.37]Temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius or lower [03:19.02]were reported in Washington, New York, Boston and Philadelphia. [03:24.95]In fact, temperatures in all or parts of the 50 states [03:30.56]were below freezing at some point on Tuesday. [03:34.35]Even in Hawaii, it was minus six degrees [03:38.84]at the top of the state's highest mountain. [03:42.03]The effect of the polar vortex was extensive. [03:46.16]Airline companies cancelled more than 11,000 flights [03:51.35]over a four day period. [03:53.94]The cold weather also interfered with train service. [03:58.27]In the south, the Tennessee Valley Authority said [04:02.76]it set a single day record for electricity [04:06.70]as homeowners struggled to stay warm. [04:10.70]The TVA provides power to seven states. [04:15.23]And it was not just North America that experienced extreme cold. [04:20.52]Over in the Pacific Ocean, [04:22.86]a Russian research ship was stuck in ice for over a week. [04:28.59]The Shokalskiy left New Zealand on November 28. [04:34.13]The ship was carrying 52 passengers when it became stuck. [04:39.11]They were rescued January 2, [04:42.85]when a helicopter flew them to an Australian icebreaker. [04:46.95]And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. [04:52.57]I'm Steve Ember.