US weather sees homeless people freeze to death as -60C polar vortex hits Chicago and Midwest

People are sharing images on social media of homeless people bundled up in sleeping bags and covered in snow saying they are dead.

It is unclear if anyone is dead in the photos, but many parts of country have been warned not to go outside due to the threat of frostbite in just minutes.

Temperatures have plunged to -60C – colder than Antarctica – and emergency measures have been deployed in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Among the worst affected cities is Chicago – where daytime highs reached only a bitter -18C on Thursday – leading to frozen pipes, roads turning to ice blocks and the threat of frostbite in just minutes.

NBC Storm Team 5 meteorologist Andy Avalos warned those in Chicago: “If you don’t have to go outside today, don’t."

He added: "Wind chill values are -45F to -55F which could lead to frostbite and hypothermia in just a matter of minutes to any exposed skin."

An anonymous helper paid for 70 homeless people to stay in hotel rooms during the brutal conditions in the Windy City.

The group of homeless people were reportedly camped out in tents when their donated propane tanks were confiscated by the Chicago Fire Department after one of them exploded.

THREAT OF FROSTBITE

City officials have designated warming centres at hospitals, police stations and libraries in response the crippling temperatures.

About 700 homeless people die a year due to hypothermia in the US, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Officials in Iowa warned people to "avoid taking deep breaths, and to minimise talking" in order to protect their lungs from the freezing air.

The National Weather Service warned frostbite is possible within just 10 minutes of being outside in such extreme temperatures.

The lowest wind chill recorded was -61C in Thief River Falls, Minnesota this week.

A polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles.

As its name suggests, the polar vortex is found around the North Pole.

A band of strong winds high up in the atmosphere keeps bitterly cold air locked around the Arctic region.

But sometimes it undergoes certain changes, move south and can influence the weather down below – in the United States.

There have been a widespread closure of schools, businesses, government offices flights and prompting the US Postal Service was suspended across ten states.

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