Burning ban in effect in Patrick County

Low Temperatures – Thursday Map (ABC News)

(NEW YORK) — The Northeast is bracing for its coldest temperatures of the season as an arctic blast hits the Midwest and then moves east.

On Thursday morning, the temperature is forecast to plunge to 5 degrees in Chicago; minus 4 degrees in Minneapolis; minus 1 degree in Green Bay, Wisconsin; and 8 degrees in Kansas City, Missouri.

On Friday, the temperature could fall to 1 degree in Chicago, 8 degrees in Detroit, 10 degrees in Pittsburgh, 14 in Boston and 21 in New York. Chicago, Pittsburgh and Portland, Maine, could also record daily record lows.

By the weekend, the temperature won’t be as extreme, but it’ll still likely feel cooler than average in the North and Northeast. Unseasonably cold conditions in the East are expected again next week.

Meanwhile, in the West, winter storm alerts are in effect on Wednesday in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, where 3 to 13 inches of snow is forecast.

Much of this snow is welcome, as the mountains have been behind normal snowfall this season.

Denver could see 3 to 6 inches of snow on Wednesday, with totals increasing in higher elevations outside of the city.