The Chicago River is largely frozen over this morning, as a historically cold air mass plunges most of the nation into a deep freeze.
The temperature at Chicago’s O’Hare airport was 16 degrees below zero this morning, shattering the previous January 6 low temperature record of 14 degrees below zero set in 1884 and 1988.
Temperatures at the South Pole were 11 degrees below zero – five degrees warmer than Chicago – at the time Chicago set its low temperature record..
Meteorologists at Weather Bell reported the average temperature in the United States registered merely 14.8 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, with strong Arctic cold extending into South Texas and Florida.
Global warming activists and their media allies have already begun blaming global warming for the record cold.
The accompanying photo was taken this morning by Heartland Institute communications director Jim Lakely.