Dozens Of Trekkers Missing In Nepal After Storm

Mountain rescue teams in Nepal are searching for dozens of trekkers who have gone missing after unusual seasonal weather.

At least 20 people trekking along the popular Annapurna mountain route have died as a result of blizzards and avalanches.

Army and civilian rescue workers say between 73 and 85 trekkers registered on the trail are unaccounted for, adding that some may have left the area.

The death toll, which includes 11 foreigners and three local yak herders, is expected to rise as a result of the snowstorms brought by the tail end of a cyclone that struck eastern India last weekend.

Thorang-La pass - at an altitude of 5,416 metres Pic: Flickr/Roshan Thapa

For two days this week, Nepal was lashed by heavy rain brought by the cyclone that also battered neighbouring India, killing at least 24 people.

"This is one of the worst mountaineering accidents that I can remember," said Gopal Babu Shrestha, the treasurer of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, who has been helping with the rescue.

"It is inevitable that the death toll will rise from here."

He took part in helicopter rescue operations on Wednesday and said he had seen what looked like bright jackets and backpacks scattered near the Thorang-La pass, at an altitude of 5,416 metres (17,769ft).

The pass is the highest point of the trail that loops around the Annapurna peak, the world's 10th-highest mountain.

Israelis trekkers who were rescued from the avalanche by the Nepalese army

The 150-mile (240km) Annapurna circuit offers spectacular views of jagged peaks and Buddhist villages.

It takes almost three weeks to complete and is nicknamed the "apple pie" circuit because of the teahouses lining the route that offer cold beer and home baking.

"It is our most popular trek," said Hari Thapoliya, a member of the Trekking Team Group in Kathmandu, which offers guides to tourists.

"It is not particularly challenging. If you keep fit by running or doing other exercise you can do it."

It is the second major mountain disaster to strike in Nepal this year, after an ice-avalanche killed 16 sherpa guides on Mount Everest in April.

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Public Health Chief Grilled On Ebola Errors

By Sky News US Team

The top public health official in the US is being questioned by politicians amid mounting criticism of his agency's ebola response, including why it allowed a nurse with the disease to board a flight.

Only two people are known to have contracted the virus in the US, but a litany of missteps from health officials has raised doubts about whether they can stop a full-blown outbreak.

Thursday's hearing was held as a Connecticut hospital announced it had admitted a Yale researcher, recently returned from Liberia, for "ebola-like" symptoms.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are to hear from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chief Tom Frieden.

Nurses Nina Phma (L) and Amber Vinson both have the disease

His testimony comes a day after he acknowledged a nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, should never have been allowed to fly on a commercial jet after she was exposed to ebola while caring for a patient.

A CDC official cleared her to board a plane from Cleveland to the Dallas area, even though she had reported a temperature of 99.5 degrees (37.5C), slightly below the 100.4-degree threshold set by the agency.

Video: Obama Warns Of Global Ebola Spread

Frontier Airlines chief executive David Siegel said in a letter to staff the airline had been told by the CDC that Miss Vinson "may have been symptomatic ... while onboard the flight", reports NBC News.

The health agency is now trying to track down 132 other passengers who were on the plane in case they too have been infected, news that sent airline stocks nose-diving on Wednesday.

Miss Vinson, 29, was one of several nurses to treat Thomas Eric Duncan, who came down with the virus and died on 8 October after travelling to Texas from Liberia.

She was already being monitored closely because a fellow nurse, Nina Pham, 26, caught ebola after also being involved in Mr Duncan's care.

Video: Ebola Nurse Told She Could Fly

Miss Pham, who was in good condition, is being transferred to a federal facility in Maryland, a day after Miss Vinson was transported to an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Georgia.

Dr Frieden has said health protocol breaches led to the infection of the two nurses. More than 70 other healthcare workers involved in Mr Duncan's care were being monitored.

The CDC director has already admitted his agency should have sent an infection-control team to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas as soon as the first case was diagnosed.

President Barack Obama directed his administration on Wednesday to respond in a "much more aggressive way" to the ebola situation in the US.

Video: Why Is The Ebola Virus So Deadly?

For the second day in a row he took the unusual step of cancelling trips away from Washington in order to monitor the disease response from the White House.

US House of Representatives speaker John Boehner and other Republicans turned up the pressure by saying Mr Obama should consider a ban on flights to the US from countries worst affected by the virus.

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How The Ebola Virus Turns The Body On Itself

Ebola isn't a particularly contagious disease.

For every person that has the disease in an outbreak, two people catch it from them. Compare that with measles, where one person usually infects another 18.

So why is the disease so deadly?

First, although it requires direct contact with someone showing the symptoms of ebola, even a very low dose is enough to infect a person.

And when that happens, the virus is particularly ferocious.

Video: Ebola Nurse Told She Could Fly

Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, told Sky News: "When the virus infects an individual, it begins its replication cycle - all viruses want to make more of themselves. But it has a mechanism to hide under the immune system's radar.

"When the immune system eventually kicks in, it does so in an over-reactive fashion and that damages host tissue, as well as trying to kill the virus."

What are the mechanisms behind that?

When ebola enters the body, it targets dendritic cells in the immune system.

Normally, when a virus is detected, these cells tell other cells to produce antibodies.

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A makeshift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

Ebola prevents that signal getting out. As far as the immune system knows, everything inside the body is fine.

Left alone, ebola then begins replicating rapidly. It then spreads into the bloodstream, infecting the whole body. Cells start to break up and die, in huge numbers. That finally triggers the immune system, which kicks in - far too aggressively.

Ordinarily when you get sick, the body releases proteins called cytokines. Some of these cells tell your blood vessels to become more permeable. This is to let antibodies travel through the body more quickly to fight the disease. 

But once ebola has taken hold of your body, the immune system reacts much too aggressively - and launches a cytokine storm.

This causes blood vessels to become far too permeable, and they leak. At the same time, the body's blood clotting mechanisms also act abnormally.

Video: Will Pooley To Return To Africa

This causes internal and external bleeding and is why ebola is known as a haemorrhagic fever. It causes tissue damage and organ failure.

In effect, the body turns on itself, then liquefies. Eventually, organs fail, and there is a catastrophic drop in blood pressure, causing death.

Once this process has begun, there is little that can be done to moderate it. This is why available new therapies, like ZMapp, have a far higher success rate the earlier they are given.  

But the worst ever outbreak of the disease will also give us the most information as to exactly how it works.

Around half of those who develop Ebola do survive. No one is quite sure why, but they do seem to then be resistant to the disease afterwards. By studying the antibodies developed biologically, we may find paths to new treatments.

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Pistorius' Sister In Tears Over Hitman

Oscar Pistorius' sister has left his sentencing hearing in tears after a self-confessed hitman was accused of mouthing obscenities at her.

Aimee Pistorius complained of feeling "very intimidated" by the presence of Mikey Schultz in the public gallery of the Pretoria court where the athlete is due to learn his fate, Sky's Alex Crawford reported.

She had to be led away "shaking and sobbing" as the court broke up for lunch.

"According to one member of the Pistorius family, Mikey Schultz mouthed some nasty obscenities to her. Aimee dissolved in absolute tears," Crawford said.

Schultz, who was seen leaving the court with other men, told Crawford outside that he had not threatened anyone.

Shaking his head, he said: "I walked into the courtroom, sat down and we came out for recess - that's all that's happened."

Video: Cousin Wants Justice For Reeva

The former boxer confessed to the killing of businessman Brett Kebble in 2005 but avoided prosecution as part of a deal to testify against the man accused of masterminding it.

Earlier in the hearing, Reeva Steenkamp's cousin made a clear appeal for Pistorius to be jailed, saying he "needs to pay for what he has done".

Kim Martin told the High Court in Pretoria "everybody has suffered" since the athlete shot dead his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013.

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1. Gallery: Pistorius Sentencing: Day Four

   Oscar Pistorius' sister seen in court before the lunch recess on day four of the sentencing hearing. She later left the court in tears

2. Aimee Pistorius complained of feeling "very intimidated" by the presence of Mikey Schultz in the public gallery of the Pretoria court, Sky's Alex Crawford reported. Schultz, pictured, said outside the court he had done nothing wrong

4. Pistorius is to be sentenced for culpable homicide over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013

5. The court heard evidence from a cousin of Ms Steenkamp, who told the hearing Pistorius needed to "pay for what he's done"

6. Ms Steenkamp's parents, June and Barry, were in the court to hear evidence

7. Zacharia Modise, the acting national director for South Africa's prison service, insisted that the service was able to accommodate disabled prisoners, such as double amputee Pistorius if he got a custodial sentence

8. Pistorius would be kept in a prison hospital wing because of his disabilities, Mr Modise said

9. During the lunch recess, Pistorius was seen helping this German cameraman after he tripped up while filming the 27-year-old

She said: "I feel Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he's done for taking Reeva's life, for what he's done to my uncle and to my aunt [Ms Steenkamp's parents], what he's done to the rest of my family but also what he's done to his family."

Pistorius makes her "very fearful" but Ms Steenkamp's family is not looking for revenge, Ms Martin added.

Pistorius, 27, could face a fine and a suspended jail sentence or up to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.

Video: Prison Boss On Pistorius Disability

He was acquitted of murder last month after he said he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp, 29, for an intruder in his home.

Ms Martin, who was the first prosecution witness at the sentencing hearing, was completing her evidence after speaking on Wednesday about how the death of the model and law graduate affected her family.

Earlier, another witness, Zacharia Modise, the acting national director for South Africa's prison service, insisted that the service was able to accommodate disabled prisoners, such as double amputee Pistorius if he got a custodial sentence.

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1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp's Life In Pictures

   Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back.

2. She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.

3. She featured as a celebrity contestant on BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012.

4. The model was a keen Twitter user, and had more than 34,000 followers. She used the site to promote women's rights and empowerment.

5. Her former fashion editor, Barbara Robertson, described the model as being "sweet, and down-to-earth" with the "it factor". She compared her to an "early Kate Moss".

6. Reeva Steenkamp on the set of reality TV show Tropika Island of Treasure (Pic: Stimulii)

Asked by Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux whether his client would be kept in the hospital section of prison, Mr Modise said that would be decided only after an assessment of his needs.

Pressed by Mr Roux, he indicated that the assessment would find that Pistorius' disability meant he should serve any jail sentence in a hospital wing rather than be kept with other inmates.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has said anything but a prison sentence would be "shockingly inappropriate".

Video: Pistorius Helps Fallen Cameraman

Both sides have agreed there will be no further witnesses and the hearing is due to resume for a fifth day on Friday with closing arguments.

Judge Thokozile Masipa is not expected to be able to deliver a sentence by the end of the week, but the court is expected to sit again next Tuesday.

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Ebola: Mistakes In Fighting Deadly Virus

A man has been spotted helping a nurse in the US with ebola board a flight to a specialist unit - without wearing any protective equipment.

The air ambulance company official, who is carrying a clipboard, comes within feet of Amber Vinson, who is now being treated in isolation in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is seen handling items given to him by a person wearing protective clothing, but his employers Phoenix Air said he did not need to don a hazmat suit.

Ebola is contracted through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, and it is not airborne.

But this incident is the latest to raise questions about the US response to the outbreak, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

Video: Ebola Nurse Told She Could Fly

Other mistakes include:

:: Allowing Ms Vinson to travel on a commercial plane from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas, even though she was showing the early symptoms of ebola.

The nurse did tell officials she was running a temperature, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is trying to track down 132 other passengers on that plane.

:: Another nurse who contracted ebola did so after an "unspecified breach of protocol". Nina Pham, 26, had been wearing full protective gear when she was treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who died after catching ebola in Liberia.

:: Healthcare workers have inadvertently violated protocols by wearing too many protective layers, according to CDC director Thomas Frieden.

:: Mr Duncan was sent home from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, despite telling medical staff he had come from the West African nation.

:: Workers were seen not wearing any protective clothing while they cleaned the outside of his Dallas apartment.

Video: Why Is The Ebola Virus So Deadly?

:: A nursing union has alleged a litany of errors in the treatment of Mr Duncan, claiming that he was kept in a non-isolated area of the emergency department for several hours and that nurses treating him were also taking care of other patients.

However, one notable success in the fight against ebola involves Nigeria and Senegal, two countries where the outbreak has been largely contained.

Nigeria had eight deaths but brought its outbreak under control by tracking 894 people who had been in contact with a man who brought the virus from Liberia, and visiting 18,500 more people to check for symptoms. Here are seven things Nigeria did right:

:: Training

Nigeria's Public Health Department sent dozens of doctors on an ebola training course. Hundreds of private clinics have been trained in identifying symptoms.

:: Communication

The first known case was a man exposed in Liberia, who despite medical advice travelled on a commercial aircraft from Monrovia to Togo, via Ghana, then changed aircraft and flew to Lagos. He died on 25 July.

Video: Speed of Ebola Spread Graph

Port Health Services conducted early contact tracing at the airport, and worked with airlines to ensure proper notification of the outbreak.

:: Early tracing

Suspected cases were isolated at ebola treatment facilities, initially in Lagos and subsequently in Port Harcourt. A contact tracing team, staffed by dedicated epidemiologists, was established to investigate all primary contacts and alert the case management team to anyone showing symptoms.

:: Response

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health activated an Ebola Incident Management Centre (a precursor to the Emergency Operations Centre) on 23 July, to rapidly respond to the Ebola outbreak.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) credit this response with helping to contain the outbreak.

:: Mobile phones

Video: Hazmat Crews Board Plane In Boston

An emergency presidential decree enabled officials to access mobile phone records and empowered them to lean on law enforcement agencies where necessary to track down people at risk.

:: Awareness

Nigeria Health Watch set up EbolaFacts.com within 24 hours of the first confirmed case. The site received 600,000 hits and 850,000 Facebook views within a week.

:: Government support

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a national emergency, and approved a 1.9bn naira (£7.2m) fund to help fight the outbreak.

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Markets Fall Further As Global Weakness Hits

The sharpest decline in European stocks since 2011 has been followed by a second day of volatile trading as investors flee risk because of global economic weaknesses.

Many stock markets, including the FTSE 100, recovered some ground lost on Wednesday in early Thursday trading - helped by some encouraging corporate results - though jitters soon outweighed the search for bargains.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.25%, or 15.7 points, at 6,195.9 following a late rally as European Union officials pledged support for Greece.

That followed a 2.8% slump on Wednesday which saw £46bn wiped off the value of the FTSE.

It was a series of weak reports on the health of the two biggest economies in the world that sparked the big sell-off.

Video: Market Jitters: US Growth 'To Win'

Hours after Chinese inflation data disappointed - falling to a near five-year low - it was revealed that US retail sales and producer prices both dropped last month.

The woeful economic signals started a safe-haven rally in US Treasuries while a sharp fall in the dollar lent modest support to oil prices, though Brent crude still shed 1.1% to $82.72-a-barrel as weak demand continued to dominate pricing.

Investors were already worried about the looming end to the US Federal Reserve's programme of quantitative easing (QE) this month before the global growth fears properly surfaced.

It was euro area weakness that dominated trading on Thursday.

The latest inflation figures for the eurozone showed annual growth of just 0.3% across the single currency bloc, doing nothing to dispel fears the European Central Bank's (ECB's) previous rate measures to boost activity had failed to make the grade.

It is facing increasing demands to start a programme of quantitative easing.

The International Monetary Fund recently forecast a 40% chance of eurozone recession though German Chancellor Angela Merkel used a speech on Thursday to urge euro nations not to try and spend their way back to prosperity.

He told an audience Europe must push ahead with efforts to cut public deficits and improve competitiveness, warning that the debt crisis had not yet been overcome and its causes eliminated.

While the UK's own economic performance is outstripping many of its major competitors, the FTSE 100 has hit 15-month lows on the back of the wider world's problems because of the market's exposure to mining and other commodity stocks.

Chancellor George Osborne has acknowledged that the stagnation in the eurozone is a major threat to the UK's recovery.

There is immediate concern about Greece.

Its main stock market fell 10% at one point on Wednesday as it also got to grips with worries its government may collapse next year, putting the country's crucial bailout programme in danger.

Greece's anti-establishment and anti-austerity party, Syriza, has established a solid lead in the polls and the country's 10-year bond yield - the interest rate it pays to service its debts - climbed to 8.9% on Thursday as shares continued to bleed value.

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Putin Accuses Obama Of 'Hostile' Attitude

Vladimir Putin has accused US President Barack Obama of hostility towards Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian president made the comment in a newspaper interview before visiting the Serbian capital Belgrade.

He was referring to a UN speech by Mr Obama last month in which he listed "Russia's aggression" in eastern Ukraine among top global threats, alongside Islamic State and the ebola outbreak.

Mr Putin told the Serbian daily Politika it was "hard to call such an approach anything but hostile".

"We are hoping our partners will understand the recklessness of attempts to blackmail Russia, [and] remember what discord between large nuclear powers can do to strategic stability," he said.

Mr Putin waves to well-wishers in Belgrade

He branded attempts to isolate Russia over Ukraine "a completely absurd, illusory goal" and accused the US of meddling in his country's affairs.

Mr Putin, who is set to meet Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko in Milan on Friday, called on Kiev to start nationwide dialogue.

Video: How Popular Is Putin In Russia?

He said it was "a real opportunity has appeared to halt military confrontation, essentially civil war".

Russia is at odds with the West over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and its support for separatist fighters in the former Soviet country's eastern region.

In retaliation the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia which have damaged its already stuttering economy.

Video: Sept: Between Ukraine's Front Lines

Despite the tensions with Europe, Mr Putin was guaranteed a warm welcome in Serbia, which is one of Russia's staunchest allies.

During his visit he was due to address crowds at a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of Belgrade's liberation from Nazi occupation - an event brought forward by four days in his honour.

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Plane Isolated In Madrid Over Ebola Fears

An Air France plane has been isolated at an airport in Madrid after a passenger was reported to have a fever and shivers.

The situation is being treated as a suspected case of ebola, a health ministry official was quoted as saying.

There were 156 passengers on the flight from Paris, according to local officials and media reports.

The possible new ebola patient arrives at Carlos III Hospital in Madrid

Airports operator Aena and Air France said in separate statements that a passenger on Air France 1300 from Nigeria, via the French capital, had started shaking during the flight.

The passenger, who had travelled from Lagos, was taken by ambulance to the Carlos III hospital.

Video: Geldof "Dismayed" At Slow Reaction

Air France said the other passengers got off the plane, which will now be disinfected.

The return flight has been cancelled.

Danish authorities are testing a health worker from Doctors Without Borders for ebola, while a nurse in France is also being tested.

The European Union has said it will launch an "immediate" review of exit screening in African countries hit by ebola.

EU health chief Tonio Borg said the bloc, along with the World Health Organisation (WHO) will look into "conflicting reports" about whether the screening in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea is good enough and will decide whether to strengthen controls. 

Video: Ebola: Busting The Myths

The death toll from the outbreak will rise to more than 4,500 this week, according to a top official from the WHO.

Dr Isabelle Nuttall, director of the organisation's global capacities, alert and response, said cases are doubling every four weeks.

The WHO will also send teams of experts to test ebola-preparedness measures at Ivory Coast and Mali's border with the countries affected by ebola.

Spain's government has stepped up its response to suspected ebola cases in the wake of a health scare when a nurse in Madrid became the first person outside Africa to become infected with the deadly virus.

Teresa Romero, was diagnosed with the virus last week and is still seriously ill but stable. She cared for two infected priests repatriated from West Africa who later died.

Video: Why Is The Ebola Virus So Deadly?

A person who had been in contact with Ms Romero and was being monitored remotely for signs of the disease would be hospitalised, after developing a fever, Spanish authorities said.

The person was one of 68 considered to have a low risk of catching ebola, and who have to check their temperature regularly from home.

Another 15 people, including Ms Romero's husband, are still under observation in Madrid's Carlos III hospital where she is also being treated, but have displayed no symptoms.

Meanwhile, the top public health official in the US is to be questioned by politicians amid mounting criticism of his agency's ebola response, including why it allowed a nurse with the virus to board a flight.

In the UK, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the NHS should be prepared for cases of ebola "in the coming months".

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Is Polar Vortex Bringing Another Hard Winter?

The northeast of the US could be facing another extreme winter thanks to the polar vortex, a long range weather forecaster has suggested.

Paul Pastelok, long-range forecast expert for AccuWeather.com, said cold air and high snow amounts will define the winter season for many.

In an interview on the site he said the polar vortex, the culprit responsible for several days of below-zero temperatures last year, will slip down into the region from time to time, delivering blasts of Arctic air.

"I think, primarily, we'll see that happening in mid-January into February but again, it's not going to be the same type of situation as we saw last year, not as persistent.

America's Great Lakes were largely frozen over in February

"The cold of last season was extreme because it was so persistent. We saw readings that we haven't seen in a long time: 15- to 20-below-zero readings."

He suggested that higher-than-normal snow levels are possible west of the I-95 corridor.

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1. Gallery: Polar Vortex Returns

   Morning snow makes Washington's Capitol even more picturesque than usual

2. Snow blankets the White House grounds

3. Some make the most of the weather, indulging in winter passtimes

4. The cold no doubt makes this US Marine's task of guarding the White House a little more arduous

5. The sub-zero temperatures have emptied out Washington's parks

6. Few brave it out on foot in the cold

7. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, temperatures dropped to -4F (-20C)

8. Scientists say this is the coldest winter in Minnesota for 35 years

9. A member of the US military honor guard walks past gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia

10. A water vapor view of the United States shows a cold mass of arctic air bringing temperatures 10 to 30 degrees below average

11. This false-colour satellite image, with ice appearing in blue, shows the Great Lakes frozen over by plummeting temperatures

"Places like Harrisburg, down to Hagerstown getting into the mountains, the Appalachians, I think that's where you're going to see your bigger, heavier amounts," said Mr Pastelok.

He added: "I'm very concerned about the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast as far as extremes go this year."

He said that overall, the region will have a very wet winter, but could also see "ice events".

Video: T-Shirt Freezes In Polar US Temps

Last winter huge areas of the US saw record cold weather, with the Great Lakes frozen over and extreme temperatures as far south as Alabama.

The polar vortex is a rotating pool of cold, dense air held in place by a belt of strong winds which last year slipped to bring extreme weather to as many as 180 million Americans.

Sky News weather producer Rebecca Yussuf urged caution. She said: "Seasonal forecasting is still in its infancy and is largely seen as experimental and complex.

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1. Gallery: Niagara Falls Frozen By Polar Vortex

   Icicles hang from the US side of the Niagara Falls, caused by record-breaking low temperatures that have gripped North America.

2. The Niagara River, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background, froze over as a weather system known as a polar vortex swept north.

3. Visitors came equipped with SLR cameras to capture the unusual sight.

4. Water continued to flow over the waterfalls, carrying with it chunks of ice.

5. Huge icy boulders formed at the base of the 34-metre-tall American Falls.

6. Tourists made the most of the unusually cold weather, with rising temperatures expected to allow frozen states to thaw over the coming days. Click through for more pictures.

"Seasonal forecasts are not like the 1-5 day forecasts we are used to, instead they look at the probabilities of various outcomes.

"The forecast produces a most probable outcome, but this outcome is not necessarily what will happen in reality.

"It is therefore too early to give a definitive forecast for the coming winter across the USA."

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Hurricane Gonzalo To Hit Bermuda - Then The UK

Hurricane Gonzalo is set to batter the British territory of Bermuda - and forecasters warn it could then move on to the UK.

The powerful category four storm, which reached sustained speeds of 140mph on Thursday, may hit Bermuda within 24 hours.

Gonzalo will then sweep across the Atlantic towards the UK and Ireland, according to satellite images on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website.

It will no longer be classed as a hurricane by the time it potentially hits Ireland in the early hours of Tuesday morning - but it could still bring "severe" conditions.

The current forecast is for winds of between 39mph and 73mph.

Sky news weather producer Rebecca Yussuf said: "This storm is expected to weaken to an ex-tropical storm as it tracks north then east across the ocean over the weekend and early next week.

"There is a large amount of uncertainty with regard to the track of this storm, but some models do suggest it could affect the UK and Ireland on Tuesday.

Hurricane Gonzalo could hit Bermuda on Friday. Pic: NOAA

"We are monitoring the situation and advise the public to do the same.

"If the storm does head towards the UK and Ireland, some places could see severe gales and heavy rain, but at this stage extreme weather looks unlikely."

Video: Bermuda Braces For Hurricane

In Bermuda, the international airport is due to close on Thursday night ahead of the expected storm. Government offices and schools will also be shut. 

"A dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding in Bermuda," the NOAA said.

"Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves."

The island, which has a population of 65,000, is still coping with the aftermath of Sunday's Tropical Storm Fay.

More than 1,000 homes remain without power and the government has deployed 200 soldiers to help the clear up.

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