Sharks FREEZE and Niagara Falls turns to ice as US temperatures hit staggering -37 degrees

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said: “We hauled the shark off the beach and it is currently thawing at NOAA Fisheries Service to be dissected later. A true sharkcicle!”.

More than 220 million Americans are preparing for the coldest New Year in living memory as the cold snap that has swept across the northern states prompts chaos across the country.

Temperatures atop the highest peak in the north-east, Mount Washington, hit a shocking -37 degrees celsius – breaking the previous record at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire of -35C which was set in 1933.

In one Michigan county there were more than 30 crashes in a single morning yesterday as the freezing weather turned the roads to ice.

A dog in Ohio was found frozen solid on a front porch and the bitter temperatures have been blamed for a number of deaths across the northern states.

The freezing conditions have hampered thousands of New Year’s plans with New York’s Times Square set to hit -11C – prompting warnings to revellers ahead of the celebrations.

People have been warned not to get too merry and to wrap up warm to avoid being caught out by the big freeze, while the National Weather Service has warned of hypothermia and frostbite across the country.

The cold weather has also prompted a series of car thefts, with police in the Cincinnati saying a number of motors had been pinched after being left running by owners who were trying to warm them up.

In a tweet, the force warned leaving your car running means “the only person who will be warm is the thief who stole your car”.

An arctic wind chill has struck the west coast too and in Erie, Pennsylvania, a storm dumped more than 65 inches of snow in just four days. 

Zach Sefcovic, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said on Wednesday: “This is a crippling snow event.

“They are no strangers to snow in that part of the state, but this much snow in that short a time is just unprecedented.”

The cold snap has left some parts of the US colder than Mars over the winter break, with data from the Curiosity Rover shows temperatures on the red planet hit -23C on December 20.

While many are frustrated by the subzero temperatures, stunning images have emerged of some US landmarks that have been struck by the cold.

Some tourists have braved the chilly conditions to take in the views at the picturesque Niagara Falls, where water is freezing in mid-air.