Bitter cold and snow are sweeping nearly half the country Friday, with 18 million people under cold weather alerts ahead of the holiday weekend.
As many as 10 million more are under winter weather advisories across parts of the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest, as well as the Great Lakes, into the Appalachians, and upstate New York, heading into the weekend. Cities under winter alerts include Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Syracuse, New York.
Lake-effect snow is pummeling the Great Lakes region, dumping more than 26 inches in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, with more on the way.
On Friday, patches of snow will affect the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes, then move into the interior Northeast. Lake-effect snow and snow squalls will lead to higher-impact areas with heavier snowfall rates and reduced visibilities.
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities on Thursday cautioned of near-whiteout conditions in parts of Minneapolis due to wind gusts exceeding 40 mph and snow showers in the area.
Dangerous winds and road conditions are creating treacherous travel from Michigan to Ohio to Illinois. Several states have seen car crashes because of winter weather, including a chain reaction pileup involving 30 cars near Erie, Pennsylvania.
By Saturday, light snow will move into the Northeast along the Interstate 95 corridor, where a dusting to a couple of inches could fall. The highest snowfall amounts of several inches will be in the typical snowbelt areas downwind of the Great Lakes.
On Sunday, a new storm will move up the Atlantic coast, bringing the potential for snow from eastern Long Island to southern New England. This storm is highly uncertain because snow amounts will ultimately depend on the storm's track.
Current models forecast light snow in Boston and Cape Cod before the storm heads out to sea. This could change, so possible snowfall totals range from a dusting to plowable amounts.
Freezing temperatures take hold
A big chill is impacting the eastern portion of the country from the Appalachians down to south Florida.
Frigid temperatures are covering the Northeast, while Floridians are set to experience what feels like the low-20s.
In Florida, 55 of the 67 counties are under freeze warnings. As of Friday morning, it felt like 37 degrees Fahrenheit in Orlando and 42 degrees in Miami. In northern Florida, wind chills were in the 20s.
A number of frozen iguanas were spotted in Homestead, Florida, on Friday morning.
As for the Northeast, the worst of the cold is yet to come, with temperatures expected to keep dropping and the coldest readings forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. By Friday, New York and Washington were already experiencing wind chills near 10 degrees, while New England was facing feels-like temperatures in the single digits and down to zero.
Record-low temperatures are possible from Florida up to Washington, with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below average.
The next round of cold will sweep into the central part of the United States on Saturday, and keep all regions east of the Rockies well below average into early next week.
