The bitter snowstorm blanketing much of America has frozen Portland, Oregon, to the extent that ice rinks have become un-skateable.
The Portland Winter Ice Rink let down skaters on Saturday as temperatures below zero degrees took hold of the city.
Oregonian ice skaters weren’t the only ones staying indoors over the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend, as a number of attractions and businesses have been forced to close their doors with the city bracing for over five inches of snow.
It comes amid a perfect storm of severe weather events gripping America from coast to coast, with heavy snow through the Midwest, flooding in the Northeast and tornadoes in the South.
The bitter snowstorm blanketing much of America has frozen Portland , Oregon , to the extent that ice rinks have become un-skateable
Heavy ice accumulation is forecast to blanket Portland throughout the holiday weekend
A parked car is damaged from a fallen tree in southeast Portland on Saturday, January 13, as a heavy storm sweeps through the city
The storm sweeping the Northwest has killed at least one person after a man was caught in an avalanche in the Palisades Tahoe resort in Lake Tahoe.
Further north in Portland, the city is continuing to be pummeled by snow and sleet, with wind chill temperatures plummeting well below freezing.
Portland Community College and Portland State University have shuttered their campuses this weekend, while all community centers and classes have also been postponed across the city.
Forecasters have warned that the worst of the storm may be yet to come for Oregon and Washington, where artic wind chill will see officials warn residents to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary.
At one stage last week all 50 states in America were under some form of weather warning, as the storm’s path stretched past the Pacific Northwest and into the Great Plains.
At one stage on Thursday, one wind alert stretched almost 2,0000 miles from Texas to New England.
Several cities, including Chicago, braced for up to a foot of snowfall as the storm moved into the Midwest by Thursday, with Chicago O’Hare Airport grounding all flights on Friday due to the freezing temperatures.
O’Hare was joined by Dallas-Ft. Worth and Denver as the three airports canceled more than 1,000 flights combined, and were the worst affected airports where over 3,600 were grounded across the country last week.
Average departure delays at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were 77 minutes, the Chicago Department of Aviation said early on Monday; Crews are shown de-icing an American Airlines plane at O’Hare International Airport on Monday in Chicago
Zach Brobst shovels in his driveway after a snowstorm left several inches of snow in Clive, Iowa, on Tuesday
People stand on an large snow pile in Oskaloosa, Iowa,on Tuesday
Iowa Department of Administrative Services plows snow on top of the Capitol parking ramp as blizzard conditions hit Des Moines on Friday
In a chilling warning, forecasters said the storm front may be set to strengthen as it heads east through the week due to atmospheric energy combining with freezing air from Canada.
This will see North Dakota reach a high temperature of zero degrees until the start of next week, at the same time tornadoes continue to threaten a slate of southern states from Texas to the Carolinas.
Heavy rainfall washed out roads and took down trees and power lines. Wind gusts reached as high as 95 mph.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. Many streets and roads were flooded and rivers were rising after some areas got up to three inches rain since Tuesday night. The rain fell on ground saturated by another storm a few weeks ago.
Murphy said 56,000 homes were without power and several hundred accidents and highway assists were reported, but no storm deaths. He said people often ignore flood warnings, to their peril.
‘And we saw in the storm Ida, people pay with their lives by driving their cars into a street they shouldn’t have, or staying in their home when they shouldn’t have,’ Murphy said in an interview with CBS New York.
Flood waters are seen here along Washington Avenue in Highlands, New Jersey, on Wednesday morning
Water rises at a residential area in an aftermath of a storm in Piermont, New York, on Wednesday
In South Carolina, shocking footage captured the moment a huge tornado slammed into the small community of Bamberg County in South Carolina.
The tornado, rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, left a trail of destruction in its wake as images of the aftermath showed bricks and debris scattered across the street after two buildings were hit by the twister.
Presidential candidate and former SC Governor Nikki Haley, who grew up in the area, also issued a statement following the tornado.
The Republican said: ‘My heart breaks hearing about the storm damage in my sweet hometown of Bamberg, SC. The people of Bamberg are tough and resilient.
‘They taught me the meaning of neighbors helping neighbors. I know with love and prayer, they will rebuild stronger than they were before.’
Images of the aftermath of the tornado showed downed trees and power lines in Bamberg, SC
Fallen bricks line Main Highway a day after a tornado struck the town of Bamberg
Are those snow boots or the other ones? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seen here on Friday tiptoeing through in the snow in Iowa ahead of Monday’s caucuses
Forecasters have warned that the severe weather events are set to continue, as the Midwest prepares for another set of snow while the Northeast is in the path of another storm hitting early next week.
The weather is also causing some disruption for Republican candidates campaigning ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
Nikki Haley´s campaign canceled three Friday events and said it would be hosting ‘telephone town halls.’ Ron DeSantis’ campaign postponed events in Marshaltown and Clear Lake.