Image via Complex Original
It's only been winter for a few weeks, but the Polar Vortex has people anxiously anticipating summer. This record-breaking cold had cities across the country looking icier than a rap video. No one was prepared for the wind chill or the makeshift ice skating venues, but with the help of beanies and many, many scarves, we all survived. Here are 25 of the coldest images you've ever seen. It'll make you feel better the next time you're subjected to weather cold enough to freeze your snot.
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No bus ride is serious enough to wait in weather like this.
Where: Varna, Bulgaria
He's the only one outside for a reason.
Draped up, dripped out—in ice, of course.
Where: Tulsa
Rappers might want to reference this photo the next time they consult their jeweler.
This 1998 storm didn't want anyone to get to work.
Where: Montreal
That's a nice spot for a traffic light.
Somehow a storm managed to create something fit for Harry Potter.
Where: Switzerland
Dumbledore, is that you?
The everflowing Niagara Falls looks rather still.
Where: Niagara Falls
Don't go chasing waterfalls, especially if they're frozen.
At least this church has a sense of humor about the polar vortex.
Where: Wasaga Beach, Canada
Wasaga Beach faces the storm with a comedic approach.
This Seattle fountain almost doesn't look frozen at all.
Where: Seattle
It was only right that the West Coast was included.
Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse: So icy.
Where: Lake Erie, Ohio
An Ohio lighthouse sits on Lake Erie looking rather eerie.
Lake Michigan felt Chicago's wind chill and wanted nothing to do it.
Where: Lake Michigan
The Chicago skyline overlooks a frozen Lake Michigan.
A partially frozen fountain at Bryant Park proves it takes a lot to stop NYC.
Where: New York
It takes a little more than a frozen fountain to stop things in the concrete jungle. Try again.
The Polar Vortex: Running things in 1911.
Where: Niagara Falls
2014's polar vortex has crazy and all, but 1911 had the craziest polar vortex of all time. ALL TIME.
Chicago wasn't playing in this Polar Vortex.
Where: Chicago
A bird's eye view of Chicago shows just how much of the city was frozen.
NYC students wish for this every year.
Where: Moscow
Frozen buses mean one thing: Snow Day!
It just got real.
Where: Indiana
This man wasn't going to let a little snow stop him.
This looks dangerous on so many levels.
Where: Lake Leman, Switzerland
When those icicles begin to drop, things are going to get very messy.
Even Atlanta wasn't safe.
Where: Atlanta
Toronto-rapper Drake wasn't the only thing Atlanta adopted. Hotlanta had to retire its moniker for a few days.
Mother Nature doesn't want anyone outside.
Where: Lake Leman, Switzerland
Mother Nature, Y U MAD?
From Chiraq to Chiberia
Where: Chicago
The shattered ice at Chicago's 39th Street pier looks more dangerous than spending time with Chief Keef.
If this tree is on lean you probably shouldn't be outside.
Where: N/A
It looks as if this tree took a page out of Fat Joe and the Terror Squad's book, circa 2004.
You know it's real when a frozen warehouse catches on fire.
Where: Chicago
Fighting fires is so much harder when the water freezes as you go.
This tree wasn't ready.
Where: Fayetteville, Ark.
Driving in inclement weather wasn't difficult enough, so this tree decided to add to the experience.
Your inner child wants to slip and slide on this.
Where: N/A
This fountain spewing ice creates a dope illusion, until you slip on said illusion.
This is what it really means to be "dripping in in ice."
Where: Chicago
A fire ravished an abandoned warehouse amidst the freezing weather, causing the scene to look more icy than usual.
College of Charleston students didn't expect spring semester to look quite like this.
Where: Charleston, S.C.
Students at the South Carolina campus were shocked to return for their spring semester only to see a frozen fountain. They later rejoiced for 63 degree weather.
The ice on this lighthouse is so brawny it's almost scary.
Where: St. Joseph, Mich.
This Michigan lighthouse received a makeover, courtesy of Mother Nature.
