Extreme Temperatures
Temperatures only made it into the single digits, teens and 20s Tuesday across much of the north-central U.S. - 20 to 40 degrees below average for many areas, the National Weather Service said.
Wind chills were as cold as minus 20 in parts of western Montana. By Wednesday morning, wind chills could drop to minus 35 in some spots - low enough to cause frostbite in 10 minutes.
Weather service meteorologist Paul Kocin said the cold air will reach the Appalachians to mid-South by Wednesday morning and then hit the East Coast by Thursday morning. The East Coast will see cooler temperatures but be spared from the dramatic lows in the middle of the country, Kocin said.
Freezing temperatures are still possible in parts of the South and East, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
The heaviest snow fell across Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Ishpeming in northern Michigan picked up 24.5 inches of snow as of late Tuesday afternoon, the highest total from the storm so far, according to the weather service.
Marquette, Mich., got socked with 21.5 inches of snow so far, creating treacherous driving conditions.
At least two people were killed in Minnesota on icy roads, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Temperatures will be slashed by 20 to 30 degrees compared to the start of this week.
High temperatures mainly in the 40s during the later part of this week will replace highs in the 60s in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will plunge into the 20s and 30s at times during the daylight hours.
However, the temperature drops will not be as extreme in the East as they were over the Central states.
The air will get cold enough at night to bring the first freeze to portions of the South, including Atlanta, and the Interstate-95 corridor.
Unlike chilly air episodes thus far this season, this particular cold outbreak will have staying power and is likely to last well into next week.
In much of the Appalachians and many areas on the western slopes of the mountains, high temperatures most days will be no better than the 30s.
Bands of snow and flurries will set up downwind of the Great Lakes.
The first areas to experience the lake-effect snow will be across parts of Michigan and northern Wisconsin beginning at midweek in the wake of the Upper Midwest snowstorm.
According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "Some areas around the lower Great Lakes that have escaped lake-effect snowfall thus far this season will have their first accumulation later this week."
Frigid air will not only spend this week pouring across the eastern two-thirds of the nation, but will also continue to spill into the Northwest.
As the cold air expands southwestward, gusty winds will create even lower AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures through Wednesday.
As the cold air squeezes through the Columbia Gorge, winds will pick up speed in a fashion similar to what happens between buildings in a city. Gusts of 40 to 60 mph can occur near the western mouth of the gorge into Wednesday.
The strongest winds will whip Troutdale, Oregon, with gusts of 50 mph expected in Portland.
Such winds could cause tree damage and power outages. Dangerous cross-winds will threaten high-profile vehicles, including those traveling Interstate-84 as it snakes along the Columbia River and the portion of I-5 in the Portland, Oregon, area.
As the winds die down later Wednesday, attention will then turn toward a new Pacific storm due to arrive late in the week.
While the storm will be far from the strongest to slam the region, the presence of the cold air will set the stage for snow and ice to fall outside of the mountains and create travel hazards.
Current indications point toward an icy mix developing along the I-5 corridor in northern Oregon and southern Washington Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Before reaching the Great Lakes, the system is expected to deliver snow from the Rocky Mountains to the northern Plains with accumulating snowfall reaching as far south as Denver.
The snow will then begin to build into the northern Great Lakes, moving into the region on Monday and continuing into Tuesday night.
Due to the path of the storm, it appears as though some of the bigger cities around the Great Lakes, such as Chicago and Detroit, will miss out on the snow.
The heaviest snow is expected to focus on a zone stretching from northern Wisconsin to central Ontario. A foot or more of snow will fall over this area with localized pockets receiving as much as 2 feet of accumulation.
Gusty winds also accompanying this storm will result in blowing and drifting snow.
While blizzard conditions are not expected, winds gusting up to 30 mph can greatly reduce visibility, resulting in major travel disruptions.
This wind will also cause AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures to be held to the teens and single digits on Monday in places such as Minneapolis, making it dangerous for people to spend extended periods of time in the outdoors without wearing proper clothing.
The cold will fill the nation's midsection by mid-week, with no let up in sight. The coldest air to arrive in a series of reinforcing surges is still a week away.
Temperatures are forecast to run 15 to 30 deg. F below normal for at least 5 days over a large portion of the central U.S. starting late in the coming week.
On individual days the temperatures will be as much as 50 deg. F below normal for this time of year, which is quite exceptional. The air mass temperature (850 mb, ~5,000 ft. altitude) will be as much as 4.5 standard deviations below normal, which is less than 1 in 100,000 in probability terms.

Power company workers are repairing electric poles to restore power supply in Pietarsaari area on Wednesday.
Snow storm caused massive power outage in Pietarsaari region of Ostrobothnia on Wednesday morning.
More than 40,000 customers of the energy company Herrfors were left without power in Pietarsaari, Uusikaarlepyy, Vöyri, Oravais and Kruunupyy areas.
The power outage in the network happened at around half past six in the morning and lasted for about an hour.
Meanwhile, the lowest winter temperature was recorded in Utsijoki.
According to the Met Office, a temperature reading of minus 25 degrees Celsius was recorded at Kevojärvi in Utsijoki following a cold wave on Tuesday night.
On the other hand, abundant snow had fallen in Kainuu since Tuesday night. Snow accumulated to more than 20 centimetres in some places. Road conditions were hampered in some places in northern Ostrobothnia.
Temperatures in the area only reached a high of 71 degrees, which makes it the area's coolest high temperature since 1962, when the high topped out at 75 degrees, said Barry Baxter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Temperatures in South Florida and the Keys also have broken records.
The temperature fell morning to 52 degrees in Miami, breaking the previous record of 54 degrees in 1993. In West Palm Beach, the temperature dipped to 49 degrees, below the previous record of 51 degrees in 1993.
The low temperature in Key West fell to 61 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 degrees set in 1957.
Temperatures only reached a high of 71 degrees in Miami, breaking a record set at 73 degrees in 1949. In West Palm Beach, temperatures peaked at 69 degrees, breaking the 1964 record of 72.
The polar vortex is a large pocket of very cold air, typically the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere, which sits over the polar region. Occasionally, this pocket of very cold air can get dislodged farther south than normal, leading to cold outbreaks in Canada and the U.S.
The main blast of cold air associated with the plunging polar vortex will swing southeastward into the Central and Eastern states spanning Sunday, Nov. 9, to Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. According to AccuWeather Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok, "Areas from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes, the upper Gulf Coast and the Appalachians will feel significant impact from the arctic outbreak."
According to Special Provincial Administration teams, the snow was 50 cm (20 inches) deep in higher elevations.
A written statement from the General Directorate of Meteorology asked citizens to be cautious due to the expected heavy snowfall in some provinces. It warned: 'Heavy Snow Coming!'
Artvin, Ardahan and northern districts of Rize and Erzurum expected heavy snowfall in the higher parts.
Comment: Read Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection for more on the science behind the crazy weather we've been having here on the big blue marble. SOTT Talk Radio show #70: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?