Polar vortex blamed for at least 8 deaths in the Midwest

At least eight deaths are linked to the polar vortex hitting the Midwest, where many cities are recording their lowest temperatures in decades.

An elderly man in Illinois was found dead after he fell while trying to get into his house, a Milwaukee man was discovered frozen to death in a garage, and a man was killed in Chicago when he was hit by a snowplow, The Associated Press reports. A University of Iowa student was also found dead early Wednesday outside of a campus building.

Chicago's temperature dropped to 23 degrees below zero, and it was minus-27 degrees in Minneapolis and 25 degrees below zero in Sioux Falls. The wind chill made it feel like 50 below zero in cities across the Midwest. With mail service suspended in most areas and many businesses closed, the few people who did venture out found ice crystals on their eyelashes and eyebrows after just a few minutes.

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At least 2,700 flights were canceled, more than half of them in Chicago, and more than two dozen water mains froze in Detroit. Temperatures will remain bone-chilling through Thursday, and are expected to hit the 20s on Friday.