Northern Mexico cold snap paralyzes Ciudad Juarez | Reuters

(Reuters) - Freezing weather and snow paralyzed the border city of Ciudad Juarez on Friday, knocking out electricity and water in thousands of homes and closing roads and factories.

Record low temperatures hit the city, across from El Paso, Texas, from Tuesday, which is already suffering from some of the worst violence in Mexico's drug war, fluctuating between -0.4 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 and -10 degrees Celsius).

"There have been cold temperatures in the past, but nothing that has lasted for so many days. It's been 40 years since the city has seen an emergency like this," said Efren Matamoros, head of the city's civil protection service.