Blistering cold air blasted across most of the country Tuesday, and a lake-effect snowstorm hammered the Great Lakes and parts of New York, threatening some places with almost 6 feet of snow - so much that the National Guard was activated around Buffalo.
High temperatures struggled to climb above freezing in much of the Northeast, and didn't even come close across most of the Midwest. Wind chills made it feel close to zero or colder in parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
More than 100 cities could break records Tuesday and Wednesday for the lowest daily high or low temperature for this time of year, The Weather Channel reported. That includes the Plains, Midwest, Deep South and Northeast. At 34 degrees, Anchorage, Alaska, was expected to be 12 degrees warmer Wednesday morning than Tallahassee, Florida.
In western New York, the problem was snow. Roads and schools were closed, and states of emergency were declared for some counties. The National Guard was activated in Erie County, which includes Buffalo, to help with cleanup. Parts of upstate and western New York could get 6 feet of snow before it's over.
Because the wind was not expected to shift direction much, forecasters said snow would pile especially high. Lancaster, New York, had 4 feet on the ground by mid-afternoon, and Orchard Park had 3 feet. About 2 feet was on the ground in parts of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
In-Depth Social - Cassandra Vinograd and Erin McClam
First published November 18 2014, 12:55 AM
Entities 0 Name: New York Count: 4 1 Name: Northeast Count: 2 2 Name: Wisconsin Count: 2 3 Name: National Guard Count: 2 4 Name: Buffalo Count: 2 5 Name: Midwest Count: 2 6 Name: Lancaster Count: 1 7 Name: Florida Count: 1 8 Name: Cassandra Vinograd Count: 1 9 Name: Erie County Count: 1 10 Name: Minnesota Count: 1 11 Name: Alaska Count: 1 12 Name: Deep South Count: 1 13 Name: Plains Count: 1 14 Name: Orchard Park Count: 1 15 Name: Tallahassee Count: 1 16 Name: Anchorage Count: 1 17 Name: Erin McClam Count: 1 18 Name: Upper Peninsula of Michigan Count: 1 19 Name: Illinois Count: 1 20 Name: Great Lakes Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/14EQCZi Title: In 49 states, it's below freezing in at least one spot Description: (CNN) -- The calendar says it's more than a month until the official start of winter, but Mother Nature said differently Tuesday morning. Every state in the Union except Hawaii had a reporting station somewhere in the state below freezing. That includes Florida, where it was in the upper 20s in the Panhandle and freeze warnings were in effect.