Nearly 70 million people were under cold weather alerts Monday morning, stretching from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast.
Below-zero and single-digit temperatures were being felt by millions across the Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes and the Northeast.
At 7 a.m., wind chills were 7 degrees in New York City; 1 degree in Washington, D.C.; minus 9 in Chicago; and zero degrees in Louisville, Kentucky.
Daytime highs will run 10 to 20 degrees below average for the entire eastern third of the country Monday.
Beginning Tuesday, temperatures will gradually warm across all regions through the rest of the week.
The Pacific Northwest braces for more rain
The Pacific Northwest is bracing for several storm systems throughout the week, which will bring heavy rain after the region was battered by rain and flooding last week.
With several rivers still elevated, the incoming rain could bring renewed flood concerns to the region.
There are already 5 million people facing new flood watches across the western half of Washington state, as well as the northern portions of Idaho and Montana.
Light rain and mountain snow will sweep through parts of Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho on Monday.
On Tuesday night, a storm system fueled by an atmospheric river could bring flooding, landslides and wind gusts of up to 50 mph to the region.
While these storms will not be as strong as last week’s, they will last through Wednesday and are expected to produce 2 to 6 inches of rainfall, with localized amounts of up to 8 inches.
Unlike last week, Northern California will see some heavy rain from this system.
