Investing.com -- A polar vortex is expected to cause temperatures to fall below freezing across most of the United States starting this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, bitter cold will spread across a majority of the country as Arctic air moves across the Rockies and Great Plains on Friday, the Deep South and Great Lakes on Saturday night, and the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday.
The weather service also warns about dangerously cold wind chills. The Rockies, Northern Plains, and Upper Midwest could experience minimum wind chills of -30 degrees Fahrenheit or colder from Saturday through Thursday. This severe cold poses a significant risk of hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin. The agency recommends that people prepare a cold weather survival kit if they plan to travel.
Wind chills below zero are expected to reach the Southern Plains and Ohio Valley on Sunday night and continue into Tuesday. Hazardous cold weather is likely to persist along the Gulf Coast and Southeast U.S. throughout much of next week.
In addition to the cold, there is also the potential for snow squalls in the Rockies. Brief periods of snow and gusty winds could result in reduced visibility and deteriorating road conditions as the cold front moves south through Montana on Thursday night and Wyoming and Northern Colorado on Friday.
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