US polar vortex: the best pictures

The most extreme weather in decades has swept across North America, sending the mercury plummeting and causing chaos – but also creating stunning pictures

Sunlight streams through the windows of a burned-out building in Plattsmouth, Nebraska

Icicles form on a fountain in Augusta, Georgia.

Frozen mist from Niagara Falls coats the landscape at Niagara Falls state park.

Frost covers the pierhead at Grand Haven, Michigan.

Ice forms on the US side of the Niagara Falls.