Coverage on this live blog has ended. The frigid temperatures that have gripped much of the United States, including areas unaccustomed to them, began to ease on Wednesday, but another arctic blast is expected later this week.
The National Meteorological Directorate said the cold air is expected to affect the eastern half of the country.
“Although not as severe as the first wave early this week, daytime highs on Friday across the Plains into the Mississippi Valley could be 20 to 30 degrees lower than normal, with winds making “The weather is colder.” .
It will then move to the eastern part of the United States over the weekend.
The low temperature in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday night is expected to reach 9 degrees. The temperature in Louisville, Kentucky will reach 6 degrees that night. The low temperature on Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee, is expected to reach 10 degrees.
In Chicago, which is no stranger to frigid temperatures, the low temperature Saturday night could reach 3 degrees, and temperatures in parts of northwest Indiana could drop to 3 below zero, the weather service there said.
Winter weather was still affecting the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Plains on Wednesday. Wind chill warnings covered parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, as well as northern North Dakota, and winter weather warnings extended from eastern Arkansas to Tennessee and Kentucky.
The weather turned deadly Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, when two adults and a teenager died after a live power line was toppled by a tree branch that covered the SUV they were riding in, the fire department there said. She added that they died when they got out of the car with their feet on the ground to complete an electrical circuit. A passerby rescued a child and was not injured.