In pictures: Freezing weather grips US

Jennifer Berry watches the sunset from a lifeguard chair at a beach on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.

Plunging temperatures have continued to break cold weather records across the US. Here a lifeguard watches the sunset from a frozen beach in Minneapolis.

A man walks past a car partially covered in ice in Baltimore

The freezing weather, blamed on a phenomenon known as the "polar vortex", has caused transport chaos. This car was frozen to the pavement in Baltimore.

A man skis past a snowman on a bench in High Park in Toronto

Many parts of Canada have also been affected, with some seeking alternative means of transport, such as this man in Toronto.

Ice collects on the Delaware River in view of Philadelphia

The region around the city of Philadelphia was reported to be experiencing its coldest day for 20 years - ice has collected on the city's Delaware River.

A Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker Pierre-Radisson clears the ice flow under the Quebec bridge on the St-Lawrence River

A Canadian coastguard icebreaker cleared a way through the ice on the St Lawrence river in the province of Quebec.

A man walks beside a frozen wall on a beach in Chicago

Chicago has been one of the worst-affected cities

Water dripping into a New York subway station freezes on a warning cone

Temperatures in some parts of New York hit a record low of -16C on Wednesday.

A fountain that has frozen over in downtown Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia in the southern US is one of the states where records have been broken - here a fountain has frozen over in the state capital, Atlanta.

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