A polar vortex is slated to sweep most of the continental United States bringing a hazardous freeze to millions of Americans from the Deep South to the Northeast Saturday going into next week.
The arctic blast is bringing dangerously low temperatures and cold wind chills to parts of Midwest to the East Coast, according to the National Weather Service. After descending over the Rockies and Great Plains, forecasters said the arctic air will plunge onto the Deep South and Great Lakes by Saturday night before stretching into the the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast by Sunday.
Sub-zero low temperatures below zero to the single digits are forecast for the northern Plains and upper Midwest, the weather service reported. Temperatures between the teens and 20s will spread across the central Plains and Midwest.
Hypothermia and frostbite are both life-threatening risks as sub-freezing temperatures pierce the Gulf Coast and wind chills of 30-55 degrees below zero strike Rockies, northern Plains and Upper Midwest as soon as Sunday, the service warned.
Snow will loom over much of the Appalachians, the upper Ohio Valley and the Northeast through at least Sunday, the weather service forecasts. The heaviest snow is expected north and west of the I-95 corridor to West Virginia and down East Maine with up to 8 inches expected.
Before leaving exiting the U.S. into Canada’s Maritimes region on Monday, the storm cyclone is set to trigger lake-effect snow from the upper Great Lakes. The weather service also reported rain showers and thunderstorms across northern Florida into southern Georgia overnight Saturday.
Frigid weather also led to the decision for Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration to be held indoors in Washington DC.
Near-average temperatures are expected west of the Rockies including 30s and 40s for the inner West and Pacific Northwest, 50s and 60s in California, and 60s and 70s in the Desert Southwest.
Winter storm warnings issued
Winter storm warnings have been issued in New York Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, according to a post on X from National Weather Service New York.
Other Northeast states have winter storm warnings in effect Saturday including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, according to the weather service.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a state of emergency would go into effect Sunday morning at 8.am. local time amid the brutal cold.
“We are expecting a winter storm bringing heavy snow, followed by dangerously low temperatures from Monday through Wednesday,” Murphy wrote on X.
Here are other areas expected to be hit with impacts from the winter weather.
DC
Massachusetts
Chicago, Illinois
Indianapolis
Atlanta, Georgia
National weather map
National weather radar
Anthony Robledo is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at arobledo@usatoday.com and follow him on X @anthonyarobledo.