First lady Michelle Obama is getting a few extra days of Hawaiian sun.
Michelle Obama celebrates 50th birthday in Hawaii as US shivers
The First Lady is avoiding the coldest US weather in decades by remaining in Hawaii without Barack Obama or their daughters.
President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha returned to the White House on Sunday after a two-week vacation.
Mrs. Obama stayed behind to spend time with friends ahead of her upcoming 50th birthday party. The White House says the extra time in the islands is part of Mrs. Obama's birthday gift from the president.
The first lady turns 50 on Jan. 17. The White House did not say when she planned to return to Washington.As her husband and daughters returned to a frigid Washington, Michelle Obama remained in far sunnier Hawaii as part of what the White House called part of a "birthday gift from the president".
She had opted to take an extended winter break with friends ahead of her 50th birthday on Jan 17, officials said.
President Barack Obama and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, stepped back on to an icy White House lawn yesterday morning as Arctic conditions gripped much of the United States.
A "polar vortex" of freezing air is descending from the North Pole and is expected to push south as far as as normally balmy Florida.
Officials warned that some 140 million people, almost half of the American population, will face subzero conditions in 20 states over the coming days.