Deep Freeze Expected To Let Up Today

ATLANTA (AP) — The arctic blast is easing its grip on much of the U.S., giving way to warmer, but still very chilly temperatures in many places.

Winds are expected to calm today and the weather's supposed to warm up slightly, a day after record temperatures — some more than a century-old — shattered up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

In Atlanta, where it hit a record low of 6 degrees early Tuesday, fountains froze over, a 200-foot Ferris wheel shut down and Southerners had to dig out winter coats. It shouldn't take too long to thaw out, though. The forecast Wednesday is sunny and 42 degrees.

In the Midwest and East, where brutal polar air has lingered over the past few days, temperatures were climbing, but still expected to be below freezing.