This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Nick Miles and at 14 hours GMT on Friday the 23rd of December, these are our main stories.

Sub-zero temperatures as a massive storm rips across the US and Canada.

Going outside to let my dog out, let me tell you it has not been fun.

We hear from a meteorologist in Chicago, as well as reporters on the ground in New York.

The latest from Afghanistan after the Taliban enforced a ban on women attending university.

Also in this podcast we follow up with a story from October of four women running the world's

most remote post office.

It's been called a once in a generation storm, more than 130 million people across the US

and Canada are bracing themselves for what could be the coldest Christmas for 30 years.

The US National Weather Service is forecasting that the wind chill factor could make it feel as

cold as minus 55 Celsius in places. President Biden has encouraged everyone to heed warnings

and bring forward Christmas travel plans wherever possible. But first here's how the situation is

being felt across the country. Here in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities, even all of Minnesota,

we have been told not to leave unless it's an absolute emergency.

Unfortunately, I did have to step outside. Negative 22 Celsius, that is what it is and that is what

it feels like. I'm in Michigan and it's about to be on our doorstep tonight. Most of the time

we're pretty good at dealing with the snow, but it's different around the holidays because you

tend to get people who visit and it makes it a little bit interesting when you have people on the

roadways who aren't necessarily as adjusted to it as we are.

Chris Bianchi is a meteorologist with nine news plus in Colorado.

We're talking about some of the wildest weather that we've seen in some cases in 40 to 50 years.

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