Wintry weather is sweeping across parts of the United States this weekend, bringing with it brutally low temperatures.
Nearly 49 million people from the northern Plains through the Southeast are under cold weather alerts. Affected cities include Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Raleigh, Huntsville and Myrtle Beach.
Dangerously cold wind chills are expected to hit these areas, with the National Weather Service issuing some alerts that run into Monday morning.
The most extreme temperatures will hit the northern Plains and Midwest on Saturday night, where overnight temperatures could dip as low as minus 25 degrees.
Wind chills will make it feel like minus 30 to minus 35 degrees in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This cold air will move into the Northeast and Southeast on Sunday night.
By Monday, lows will reach the teens, 20s and 30s, with wind chills making it feel about 10 degrees colder than the air temperature.
Record lows are possible over the next two nights in cities such as Indianapolis; Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; Savannah, Georgia; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Daytime highs will stay 10 to 35 degrees below average along and east of the Plains, with highs expected to stay below zero in the northern Plains on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, highs will stay in the single digits, teens and 20s across much of the Midwest, Northeast and mid-South.
Snow from the Plains through the mid-Atlantic
Fifty-eight million people from the Plains through the mid-Atlantic face winter alerts.
A quick-moving clipper is bringing periods of heavy snow and gusty winds to these areas.
Some of the cities facing these alerts are the Quad Cities, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York.
Snow showers were already hitting parts of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana on Saturday morning. This cluster will zip through the Midwest on Saturday afternoon, reaching parts of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians by the evening.
A video taken in Champaign, Illinois, on Saturday afternoon shows snow-covered roads as snowfall continues to hit the region.
A video taken in Iowa City on Saturday morning shows a heavy blanket of snow covering the ground.
These showers will move into the mid-Atlantic overnight, with snow lingering in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston through Sunday morning.
Snowfall will gradually come to an end by midafternoon Sunday as the system moves offshore.
A swath of 2 to 5 inches of snow is expected in parts of central Iowa and Illinois, with higher amounts likely in the central Appalachians.
Totals for the I-95 corridor will range from 1 to 4 inches from Washington, D.C., through Boston, with higher localized amounts possible across New Jersey and Long Island.
Lake-effect snow warnings are in place through Monday, as up to 14 inches is possible downwind of Lake Erie and Ontario. This snow could be accompanied by 35 mph wind gusts, creating difficult travel conditions.
Flooding in the Northwest
After a rain-soaked few days, the Northwest will catch a dry break Saturday thanks to an area of high pressure.
Significant river flooding will persist through the area, most notably in western Washington.
The possibility of rain will return on Sunday, with another strong storm moving onshore Monday into Tuesday. This system is set to bring another round of heavy precipitation and strong winds.
