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Brutal cold torments the US, and 'the worst is yet to come'

Posted at 9:03 AM, Jan 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-02 09:06:59-05

Welcome to 2018! Here's a week-long deep freeze to help you celebrate.

The brutal chill that froze much of the country on New Year's Day will get even more miserable later this week.

"The cold is here to stay and the worst is yet to come," CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said.

 

 

More than 100 million people from Canada to Mexico are under wind chill warnings and advisories on Tuesday, according to CNN meteorologist Monica Garrett.

On New Year's Day, 90% of the US failed to warm up to 32 degrees, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

You know it's bad when even Dallas can't get above freezing.

Hard freeze warnings remain in effect through Wednesday in typically balmy states, from Texas to northern Florida, the National Weather Service said.

And for the rest of the week, "much below normal temperatures and dangerous cold wind chills" will afflict much of the central and eastern US.

The wind chills plummeted to -28 in Fargo, North Dakota, and -6 in Tennessee on Tuesday.

If you live anywhere north or northeast of Oklahoma, you'd feel warmer walking into a freezer than walking outside.

Here's what else different parts of the country can expect:

The Southeast: Snow on the beach

The Southeast will stay 10 to 15 degrees below average temperatures through the weekend, Ward said.

In coastal South Carolina, "it could be snowing on the beach in the next couple of days," Cabrera said Tuesday.

The Midwest: School closures

The Plains and Midwest will warm slightly -- but that's totally relative. Temperatures in Minneapolis will rise from below zero to 12 degrees on Tuesday, Ward said.

Indianapolis Public Schools and Cincinnati Public Schools canceled classes for Tuesday,

But by the end of the week, temperatures will be near zero again in the Great Lakes region, Garrett said.

The Northeast: The deep plunge

Get ready, New York City. Your temperatures will keep plunging through the week, with "high" temperatures of 14 and 10 on Friday and Saturday. Your low temperatures on both days will be 2 degrees.

Boston is expected to freeze below 0 degrees on Saturday, Ward said.