Watch as the polar vortex instantly turns boiling water to snow
Some of the hardy folks of Viroqua, Wisconsin are using the teeth-chattering polar vortex to conduct amusing science experiments - turning boiling water into snow.
As temperatures drop to minus 51 with a wind chill, meteorologist Eric Holthaus demonstrated the fascinating effect the cold has on a pot of boiling hot water thrown into the air.
Instantly turning to a frozen gas-like state, the warm water drifts off into the air as Holthaus stands - impressed that the trick actually worked.
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Watch this: Meteorologist Eric Holthaus demonstrated the fascinating effect the cold has on a pot of boiling hot water thrown into the air
With the United States seeing its chilliest weather in over two decades today, huge swaths of the country are seeing temperatures described as 'life threateningly cold'.
The science behind the trick involves the gradient between the hot water and the freezing air.
Boiling water is in a state nearer to gas and is less viscous that colder water which is technically nearer to ice.
When the boiling water is thrown into the air it falls into tiny droplets that vaporize instantly due to their high ratio of surface area to volume.
However, cold air is unable to hold clouds or vapor and so it clings to the sodium or calcium particles in the water and crystallizes.
Indeed, more than half of the U.S. is enduring a dangerously cold start to the week as a whirlpool of frigid, dense air known as a ‘polar vortex’ descended this morning, pummeling parts of the country with a dangerous cold and adding to the brutal weather that has grounded more than 4,100 flights.
Record low temperatures have already been set; at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, temperatures of minus 16 degrees were recorded at 8am, beating the previous record of minus 14 set in 1988.
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Instant snow: The warm water vaporizes on contact with the cold weather in Wisconsin
In Minnesota, officials have taken the rare step of closing all of the state's public schools on Monday - the first time in 17 years.
Schools across Chicago, Milwaukee and St Louis are also closed, while officials in Washington D.C. and as far south as Atlanta announced school closures for Tuesday.
With wind chill warnings stretching from Montana to Alabama, much of the U.S. will see the coldest temperatures in almost 20 years, according to the National Weather Service.
They are expected to be 30 to 50 degrees below average in some cities - and the deep freeze is expected to last into Tuesday.