Venice freezes over, and

While we here on the U.S. East Coast continue to have considerably higher than average temperatures (even extending into the heartland), Europe is getting hammered by brutally cold temperatures.  Weather sure can be weird.   The pictures in the Daily Mail article of the canals of Venice are remarkable.  I'm sure it's findable, though I haven't looked yet, but I wonder when the last time this happened was.

Big freeze in Europe shows no signs of letting up as Venice's famous waterways ice over

 
Meanwhile, it is so cold in Poland that the local polar bear club had to cancel their frigid dip:

Deep freeze hits Poland's hardy lake swimmers

"This year's edition of the annual swim in a lake near the city of Elk -- which draws around a hundred participants -- was due to take place on Sunday.

But temperatures in northern Poland have plunged to minus 30 Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), far below the minus 15 Celsius experienced by swimmers in 2010 during the coldest ever edition of the event."  [I think they mean before this year!]