Nearly 100 million people in Canada and the United States are braving the icy winds, as North America faces record cold weather.


The National Weather Service warns that the extreme cold could bring "once-in-a-generation" freezing winds that cause frostbite in less than 10 minutes.


Officials from Manitoba to Maine are urging residents to limit their time to Friday and Saturday.


Since Monday, at least 11 people have died due to severe weather in the southern United States.

Eight people died in Texas, two in Oklahoma and one in Arkansas.

The expected decrease in temperatures is due to a polar wave extending from the Canadian Maritime provinces to the central United States.


About a dozen records are expected to be broken in several US states by Friday afternoon, when more than 82 million people will experience temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius (0 Fahrenheit) or colder.


In Maine, for example, parts of the state are expecting the lowest temperatures recorded since 1971. In Portland, wind chills are expected to reach -40.5 degrees Celsius.


And nearby Burlington, Vermont, is expected to reach a high of -20 degrees Celsius on Friday.


A state of emergency has been declared in Boston due to severe cold winds. Public schools were closed in the city as well as in nearby Worcester.


New York City and other major cities are also expected to experience cooler temperatures on Saturday (around -13°C to -17°C), although forecasters are predicting warmer temperatures by Sunday evening.


Temperatures of -38°C to -50°C are expected in parts of Canada. A severe cold warning issued by Environment Canada on Friday morning was extended to the Maritimes, most of Quebec and all of Ontario and Manitoba.


And in Canada's capital, Ottawa, freezing temperatures have forced the closure of local ski hills and outdoor snowboarding trails. Temperatures dropped to minus 29 degrees in Toronto on Friday due to chilly winds.


Severe winter weather is on the way for parts of Texas during this week's deadly blizzard, where temperatures will rise above freezing, and snow is expected on Friday.


More than 309,000 people were without power in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi as of Friday morning, according to the power outage website.


Emergency crews in Texas have responded to hundreds of calls since Monday about accidents caused by icy roads, some of which have killed people.


And in neighboring Oklahoma, a 35-year-old driver was killed in a six-vehicle crash on icy roads Thursday morning, according to local media.


Dallas police are asking people to fill up their tires and slow down on icy roads.