North America is gradually being relieved of the arctic cold that has shattered century-old records of temperature and left 21 people dead.
US Midwest and East is experience a rise in mercury days after it has suffered the impact of the polar vortex but temperatures in many areas still remain below freezing.
Since Sunday, more than 11,000 flights were grounded while the US natural gas usage hit an all-time record to meet heat demands
Forecasters predict that weather will be returning to normal across much of the US in the coming days, following record low temperatures on Tuesday in 50 cities.
The US National Weather Service predicted “a much-anticipated warm up” for much of the eastern US on Wednesday.
The US Midwest – which has experienced -37C (-35F) in recent days – also warmed slightly, but still faced temperatures 15 to 25 degrees below average.
Atlanta, Georgia, returned to a more temperate 5C (42F) on Wednesday following a record low of -14C (6F) a day earlier.
New York City topped -5C (22F) on Wednesday, after shattering a 118-year-old low temperature record with -15C (4F) on Tuesday.
