Wind chills reached minus 46 degrees Celsius, the reports said.
The frigid weather forced the airlines to cancel more than 1,700 flights at both O'Hare and Midway airports and Chicago public schools to close.
A whirlpool of frigid air plunged temperatures well below zero across much of the United States, the reports said.
The U.S. weather agency forecast that the cold temperatures will continue to grip the country until Tuesday afternoon.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com