An Arctic blast in the US brings record cold and wind chills that can cause frostbite in minutes

(CNN) — A brutal arctic blast is bringing record low temperatures and deadly cold to much of the United States as snow and freezing rain spread from the country’s south to northeast. You should know this.

– Record low temperature: About 80% of the United States will experience temperatures below freezing this week. Numerous daily cold records have already been broken — including in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas — and Maine could break them this Tuesday across the central and southern United States. Temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to remain below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.

– Can cool down in minutes: More than 120 million people are under a wind chill alert from the Canadian to the Mexican border. Much of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and Midwest will see subzero wind chills on Tuesday, with wind chills below -30 degrees Celsius in the Central Plains and central Mississippi Valley. “These low temperatures can cause frostbite to the skin within minutes, followed by hypothermia,” the National Weather Service warned.

– Deaths in five states: Since January 12, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee have reported at least five deaths due to a series of winter storms that have battered the United States with dangerous winds, snow and ice. One man was killed and another injured in Arkansas when their pickup truck ran off a snowy White County road and crashed into a tree, according to state police.

– Icy roads make travel dangerous: As snow reaches New York and New England and moves further north this Tuesday, the weather service warned travelers to plan for slippery roads and hazardous travel conditions that could become very difficult. Icy road conditions in the south were observed Monday, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation responding to hundreds of highway incidents and warning that “conditions will remain hazardous for at least the next 24 hours.”

– Schools are closed: Districts in more than half a dozen states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia, announced closures amid the frigid temperatures.

Snow and freezing rain in the northeast of the country

As dangerously cold temperatures continue across much of the US — with more than 80 million people under a winter weather advisory for more than 2,500 kilometers from the Texas-Louisiana border to the Maine-Canada border — snow and freezing rain will spread south. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Tuesday.

Along the Great Lakes coast, heavy lake-effect snowfall is expected to cause major headaches for travelers. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air moves over open water, leaving the Great Lakes frozen, and forming narrow ridges that produce 2 to 3 feet of snow per hour or more.

Buffalo, New York, is under a winter storm watch through Thursday night, with 8 to 18 inches of heavy lake-effect snowfall and possible gusts of 40 mph. Watertown, also under a winter storm watch through early Friday, could see between 2 and 3 feet of heavy lake-effect snowfall.

“Travel may be very difficult or impossible. Areas of blowing snow may significantly reduce visibility,” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo warned. “Hazardous conditions may affect this Wednesday morning and evening.”

The region received just over three feet of snowfall from the previous round of very heavy lake effect snowfall.

After more than 700 days without a centimeter of snow, New York City is expected to receive 5 to 10 centimeters of snow by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

At least 10 to 15 centimeters of snow is expected in Washington this Tuesday. The city received more than an inch of snow on Monday, making it 673 days without snow.

The storm threatens 3 million people in the Pacific

With heavy snowfall in the Northeast, another storm will move into the Pacific Northwest between Tuesday and Wednesday. The system will produce rain from the Pacific Northwest to parts of California, with snow over higher elevations.

Tuesday’s storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue a blizzard warning for more than 3 million people in the Pacific Northwest, including Portland. A Blizzard Warning is in effect from Tuesday, 4 PM until Wednesday, 10 AM Pacific Time.

The region could see about 1.5 centimeters of snow accumulation, but locally up to 2.5 centimeters near the Columbia River Gorge and across eastern Schemania County. In addition to snow, gusts of up to 80 km/h are possible over the Columbia River Gorge. Between 7 and 15 centimeters of snow is also expected.

Winter storm warnings are extended in the Cascades and northern Rockies. Warnings across the Cascades indicate between 12 and 36 inches of snow between 4 PM Tuesday and 1 AM Pacific Time Thursday. Up to 24 inches of snow is forecast for northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and northwestern Montana between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Thursday.

Subzero wind chill and frost risk

Wind chill temperatures, that is, the cold you feel outside due to heat loss from exposed skin, are expected to reach dangerously low levels that can cause frostbite and hypothermia.

A dangerously low temperature of 31 degrees Celsius is expected in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, and in Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle, with temperatures in the low 40s below zero by Tuesday. “Dangerously cold wind chills can cause frostbite to exposed skin within 10 minutes,” the weather service warned.

According to the weather service, the parts most susceptible to frostbite are the fingers and toes, the tips of the ears and the tips of the nose. Symptoms include loss of sensation in the limb and a white or pale appearance.

“Avoid outdoor activities if possible. If you are outside, wear appropriate clothing, dress in layers and cover exposed skin. Keep pets indoors,” the National Weather Service said. “If you have to travel, have a survival kit against the cold.”

Although temperatures are expected to moderate through the middle of the week, a new wave of cold air will move across the Northern Plains and Midwest and Deep South by the end of the week, according to the weather service.

— CNN meteorologist Sara Tonks and CNN’s Zenebau Silla, Sarah Dewberry, Amy Simonson and Andy Babineau contributed to this report.