Some parts of the Northeast are already seeing snow, but the worst part of this wintery weather has yet to hit. NBC's Ron Mott reports.
By Daniel Arkin, F. Brinley Bruton and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News
A massive winter storm dumped 20 inches of snow on parts of New England and looked set to cripple much of the Midwest and Northeast on Friday as millions faced bone-chilling temperatures.
The immediate focus was on snow.
Ten to 15 inches of snow had fallen on Boston, Mass., by 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday, while some 20 inches had already fallen on other parts of the state, according to The Weather Channel lead meteorologist Michael Palmer. The temperature in Boston hit a low of 2 degrees overnight. Maine could see the mercury drop to minus 30 after dark.
Winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect in at least 22 states, stretching from Chicago through the New York tri-state region into New England and affecting an area home to more than 90 million people.
With dangerous sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow, the Midwest is digging out from a big winter storm that hit the region. The treacherous weather has also created a travel nightmare at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.
New York City, where the overnight temperature hovered at around 12 degrees, looked set to get between 5 and 8 inches by the time it was all said and done mid-morning Friday.
And the cold behind the snowstorm could be crippling.
"It's going to be brutal," Weather Channel coordinating meteorologist Tom Moore said of the expected sub-zero temperatures. "People that are vulnerable are really going to be hurting."
The high temperature in New York City will be in the teens on Friday during the day and drop to between 5 and 8 degrees in the evening, with the wind chill making it feel well below zero.
"Please, starting this evening, stay indoors for the maximum extent possible," newly minted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio implored residents at a briefing on Thursday night. "If you don’t need to go out, please don’t go out."
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick dismissed all state workers at 3 p.m. on Thursday, and urged residents to minimize time outside and be aware of frostbite and hypothermia symptoms. "That is a very, very dangerous set of circumstances," he said.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick briefs the media on the state's response to heavy snowfall, negative temperatures and possible coastal flooding.
Across the Northeast, residents were fretting about the blast of bitter cold.
“I think I’m more concerned about the terrible cold Friday night rather than the storm itself," David Ball of Scituate, Mass., which was facing coastal flooding, told NBC affiliate WHDH. "Hopefully the power stays on."
The first brutal blast of cold shattered records in Minnesota on Thursday — and a second blast is expected to barrel from the Great Plains and Midwest on Sunday and Monday and into the East on Tuesday.
The second wave of icy weather will stretch from the upper Midwest to Kentucky and Tennessee, forecasters said.
Chicago will struggle to get above minus 8 and by Monday morning the wind will make it feel like it's 40 below zero there.
In Green Bay, Wis., where the Packers host an NFL playoff game Sunday evening, the low temperature could reach minus 18.
"Even Atlanta's northern suburbs could be in single digits by Monday night," Moore said.
Larry Wittmers, a hypothermia expert at the University of Minnesota-Duluth medical school, said it's not necessarily the coldest areas that face the most peril.
"True hypothermia cases turn up more often in more southern regions because people are not prepared and don't know what to do," Wittmers said.
A large winter storm moving across the nation already has forced the cancellation of several flights. Rail delays and dangerous road conditions also are expected. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
How long people can safely spend outside depends on how wet or windy it is and how they are dressed, Wittmer said. Shoveling snow or other exercise can be dangerous because sweat reduces the insulation capability of clothing, and consuming alcohol can speed heat loss and reduce awareness of the cold.
And even though record snowfall is not expected, the cold could make roads even more hazardous because the snow-melting salt that homeowners and road crews use loses effectiveness at between 10 and 20 degrees.
To give plows time to work and guard against vehicles getting stranded, New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and closed several major roads, including the Nassau and Suffolk county sections of the Long Island Expressway from midnight to 5 a.m. New Jersey also declared a state of emergency.
"As this winter storm unfolds, bringing heavy snow and high winds to many parts of the state, I strongly urge all New Yorkers to exercise caution, avoid travel and stay indoors," Cuomo said.
At the Pine Street Inn shelter in Boston, vice president Heidi Daniels was preparing for a packed house.
"We won't turn anybody away," she said. "We'll pull out cots and mats and make sure everybody has a warm place to stay tonight."
NBC News' Ron Mott contributed to this story.
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This story was originally published on Thu Jan 2, 2014 9:34 PM EST
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