ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Still images show parts of the 176 foot (53.6.m) American Falls covered in ice and the area below the observation area frozen over.<br/> <br />A deadly blast of arctic air that shattered decades-old temperature records as it enveloped the eastern United States on Tuesday (January 8) caused Niagara Falls on the United States and Canadian border to become a winter wonderland.<br/> <br />The cold weather caused the Niagara River to form an "ice bridge" and freeze over. Large amounts of ice up river from the falls led authorities to issue a flash-flood warning for two islands in the area, according to local media reports.<br/> <br />The low of minus -20.55 degrees Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) at the National Weather Service office at Buffalo Niagara International Airport tied a record set in 1942. The wind chill dropped down to -33.33 Celsius (-28 Fahrenheit), The Buffalo News reported.<br/> <br />The record temperatures were caused when polar air mass wept over North America
