Dangerously cold temps blast much of the US, keeping schools closed a…

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Dangerously cold temperatures affected much of the Rockies, Great Plains and Midwest on Tuesday, with wind chills below minus 30 degrees (minus 34.4 Celsius) in many parts of the central U.S.

More than 85,000 U.S. homes and businesses were without power early Tuesday, the bulk of them in Oregon after widespread outages that started Saturday. Portland General Electric warned that the threat of freezing rain Tuesday could delay restoration efforts. Transportation officials urged residents to avoid travel as roads were expected to be hazardously slick with ice that could weigh down trees and power lines, causing them to fall.

Classes were canceled Tuesday for students in Portland and other major cities including Chicago — home to the nation’s fourth-largest public school district — Denver, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas.

The storms and frigid temperatures affected everything from air travel to NFL playoff games to Iowa’s…