Several areas in Illinois have decided to reschedule Halloween trick-or-treating to this Saturday because of the cold weather and snow
Several areas in Illinois have decided to reschedule Halloween trick-or-treating to this Saturday because of the cold weather and snow
Storms are raging across the central United States from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes ahead of an arctic blast that could bring record shattering cold to the South.

Strong winds have brought down trees and power lines from Tennessee to North Dakota after tropical Storm Olga swept in from the Gulf Coast.

Forecasters say the severe storms could now hit states from Alabama to New England.

And in just a few hours, temperatures are expected to drop as much as 30 degrees as a cold front blows in from Canada.

A freeze warning has been issued for several states across the country, including Texas, regions in California, the Carolinas and Georgia.

Many of those areas will see temperatures dip into the 20s and 20s starting Thursday and continue on into Friday.

Chicago has already seen it earliest snow fall in 30 years and temperatures below zero are being registered in the Rockies and Great Basin.




The National Weather Service is telling people to take precautions and prepare for the oncoming freeze.

'To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly,' they said, according to Newsweek.

'Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.'

The cold burst has surpassed October weather records in the West, with temperatures coming in at a staggering below zero in the Rockies and Great Basin.

Pictured: a shot of the Ventusky map that illustrates the freezing temperatures heading towards the central and east regions of the country
Pictured: a shot of the Ventusky map that illustrates the freezing temperatures heading towards the central and east regions of the country
Subzero temperatures were also found at the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the infamous Peter Sink in Utah clocked in at minus 45.5 degrees.

Shockingly, single digit temperatures have been recorded in Altura, California, and in Grand Junction, Colorado.

It's expected to see daily lows in state as southern as Texas as the chill moves from west to east.

The cold front is travelling down from Canada and into the central U.S.

Subzero temperatures were predicted to be recorded Thursday afternoon in central region states
Subzero temperatures were predicted to be recorded Thursday afternoon in central region states
Winds gusts caused trees to topple in Tennessee and in the western Carolinas as wind gusts above 30 mph began funneling through the South.

So far, around 65,000 homes and businesses were left without power after outages darkened Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Chicago started the winter season early after the city was blanketed in record breaking snowfall that is the earliest in 30 years.

The unexpected weather was announced by the National Weather Service Chicago in a tweet from Wednesday afternoon.

The agency revealed that Chicago received 1.2 inches in snow and that it was the earliest snowfall amassing over one inch since October 20, 1989.

They also shared that the 1.2 inches of snow broke a 96-year-old daily snowfall record initially set with 0.7 inches on October 30 in 1923.

One major concern are the thousands of children who plan on going trick-or-treating Thursday night.

Meteorologists believe places like the northwest suburbs will receive around five inches of snow in addition to early morning rain.

In response, several northeast Illinois cities have rescheduled or restricted designated trick-or-treat times.

NBC 5's Paul Deanno says that measurable snow has fallen on Halloween only once before.

'That was 2014, and it was only 0.1". A trace fell 6 other times. So if our forecast holds, this will be the "snowiest" Halloween in Chicago history,' he said.

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