Snow blamed for crashes as millions in US hit with frigid temperatures

The coldest air of the season is roaring into the central, eastern and southern U.S. Tuesday, sending temperatures nosediving to mid-winter levels all the way from the Midwest to Florida.

Although not expected to be record-breaking, it is a shock to our system, as the first cold waves of the season often are, AccuWeather said.

In all, some 100 million Americans are experiencing the cold blast.

And while most of us won't see measurable snow, areas around the Great Lakes are enduring the first significant lake-effect snow event of the season, with one spot in New York already picking up nearly two feet of snow.

Where is it snowing?

Folks around the Great Lakes are seeing a winter wonderland this morning thanks to a visit from the lake-effect snow machine.

Indeed, the snow was already piling up Tuesday, especially in western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northeast Ohio. Over a foot of snow has fallen along Lake Ontario in New York. The highest total so far was 23 inches reported near Constableville, New York, which is east of Lake Ontario in the Tug Hill Plateau region, AccuWeather reported.

"Heavy snow rates and gusty winds will make travel treacherous," the weather service said. Several school districts in the affected areas were closed Tuesday due to the heavy snow, WIVB-TV reported.

In northeast Ohio, the 36,000 students in the Cleveland school district had a snow day Tuesday. Forecasters said they expected up to 16 inches of snow in the greater Cleveland area.

Travel was also impacted, as at least two multi-car pileups were reported due to the heavy snow: A 10-car pileup near Buffalo on Monday, which seriously injured one child; and a 13-car pileup Tuesday south of Cleveland, in which multiple non-life-threatening injuries were reported.

A few other locations downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario could see well over two feet of snow by the time this event winds down Wednesday.

How cold will it be Tuesday?

"Highs Tuesday will be in the 30s and 40s for New England, the mid-Atlantic, and even into the Carolinas, with 50s for the Southeast and Gulf Coast/north Florida," the National Weather Service said.

"Chilly highs in the 20s and 30s are expected for the Great Lakes/Midwest with 30s and 40s from the central Plains into the middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Highs will be in the 50s for Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley."

This translates into high temperatures that will be 10 to 20 degrees below average Tuesday across the entire eastern half of the nation, the weather service said.

Where is the cold coming from? How long will the cold last?

This unusually cold air mass comes to us all the way from northern portions of Canada, AccuWeather reports.

Fortunately for cold-weather-haters, this cold blast is expected to be short-lived: "During the second half of the week, the temperature trend will reverse and recover to near the historical average over much of the eastern third of the nation," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

'Difficult to impossible' travel:1-2 feet of lake-effect snow to paste Great Lakes region

Contributing: The Associated Press; Bryce Buyakie, the Akron Beacon Journal