Temperatures in all 50 U.S. states dipped to freezing or below on Tuesday as an unseasonably cold blast of weather moved across the country. Heavy snow prompted a state of emergency in western New York.
In the South, states were bracing for a record chill from the Arctic-born cold, which swept the Rocky Mountains last week.
Every state, including Hawaii, was bitten by temperatures at the freezing point or below, the National Weather Service said.
The morning was the coldest overall across the country in November since 1976, according to Weather Bell Analytics, a meteorologist consulting firm. Typically, such cold is not seen until late December through February.
In western New York, a storm dropped several feet of snow, prompting Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare a state of emergency for 10 counties. National Guard troops were deployed to help residents cope with the storm, which was expected to last for days.
A total of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of snow was expected in many areas of western New York and as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) elsewhere.
A 140-mile (225-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway along lakes Erie and Ontario was closed. Bans on driving were implemented in some places.
In lake-effect storms typical of western New York, snow can be heavy in some areas yet light in others. Lake-effect snow occurs when cold air moves across warmer waters such as the Great Lakes and can dump heavy accumulation.