Polar vortex forces USPS to suspend delivery in these areas
Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in Chicago. A deadly arctic deep freeze enveloped the Midwest with record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, triggering widespread closures of schools and businesses, and promptin
It’s so bitterly cold in certain parts of the country that the United States Postal Service is suspending delivery in dozens of Midwest neighborhoods on Thursday out of concern for the safety of its employees.
As a deadly polar vortex settles across the country, forcing mass school closures and huge travel disruptions, some parts of the Midwest have reported the lowest temperatures in decades. In International Falls, Minnesota, the wind chill is negative 31 degrees Fahrenheit, while in Chicago, the temperature was negative 11 degrees (up from a balmy negative 21 earlier in the day).
Because of one of the coldest arctic outbreaks in memory, the USPS -- motto: "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" -- is suspending service in these three-digit ZIP code areas on Thursday.
The numbers below are the first three numbers of the zip codes where USPS service is suspended.
Michigan: 486-491, 493-499
Indiana: 460-469, 472-475, 478, 479
Chicago: 606-608
Lakeland: 530-532, 534, 535, 537-539, 541-545, 549, 600, 602, 601, 611
Detroit: 480-485, 492
Illinois: 601, 603-605, 609, 613, 614, 616, 617, 618, 627
Northern Ohio (Toledo area): 436
Western Pennsylvania (Erie, Bradford areas): 164, 165, 167
It’s unclear whether service will return on Friday, when temperatures are expected to remain low.