(undated) -- An Arctic blast will plunge into the central and eastern U.S. over the next few days.
Frigid temperatures and howling winds will put the upper Midwest and Northeast in a deep freeze this weekend, with some cities and areas getting record cold.
Temperatures will be well below normal from the Ohio Valley to Maine, and down into the Mid-Atlantic. A freeze watch is in effect for much of the Mid-Atlantic, where the bitter cold could severely damage sensitive vegetation.
Heavy snow is expected downwind of Lake Superior, and could bring wintry weather to Cleveland and Detroit by Sunday.
The National Weather Service says temperatures throughout the region will be more typical of January than November. If that's not enough, forecasters say the Polar Vortex will be dipping into the Midwest before Thanksgiving. That huge mass of cold air that usually hangs high in the Arctic atmosphere is expected to surge southward in the week before Thanksgiving, bringing bitterly cold weather to the Central and Eastern U.S.