A University of Vermont student has been found frozen to death after trying to take a shortcut home in sub zero temperatures.

Connor Gage, 19, was found lying in the snow in a parking lot behind a business in Burlington just before 11am on Saturday.

Emergency crews were unable to revive the freshman and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said it appears Gage was cutting through the parking lot during the early morning hours when he was stopped by a fence.

The temperature at the time was between minus 1F and minus 4F.

Connor Gage, 19, (above) was found lying in the snow in a parking lot behind a business in Burlington, Vermont just before 11am on Saturday

He was wearing clothing that police described as 'inadequate' for the weather.

'Exposure to cold seems to have been a cause or significant contributing factor,' police said in a statement.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the teen's condition and whereabouts prior to his death, but have said there are no indications of foul play.

It is not clear if alcohol was a factor but an autopsy is being carried out.

The National Weather Service said temperatures reached lows of -5F in Burlington on Saturday - making it the coldest temperatures on Groundhog Day since 1993.

Gage was a freshman at the university and hailed from Little Falls, New York. He was a neuroscience major.

The University of Vermont said it would be offering counseling services for those affected by Gage's death.

The 19-year-old was a freshman at the University of Vermont (pictured above on Saturday). The temperature on Friday night was between minus 1F and minus 4F

Gage was a freshman at the university and hailed from Little Falls, New York. He was a neuroscience major

'It is with great sadness that I inform the university community that Connor Gage, a first-year student from Little Falls, New York majoring in Neuroscience within the College of Arts and Sciences, passed away off campus,' they said in a statement.

'Although the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, the Burlington Police Department has indicated that below-zero overnight temperatures may have been a contributing factor.

'We extend our deepest condolences to Connor's family. Our sincere thoguht of care and sympathy are also extended to his friends, classmates and to faculty and staff who were close to him.'

Gage is the second university student to die this week after an 18-year-old pre-med student at the University of Iowa was found frozen on campus last Wednesday during the polar vortex.

Gerald Belz, of Cedar Rapids, Illinois, was found by campus police behind an academic hall.