As snow sweeps across the country from the west, the northeastern United States is bracing for heavy snowfall that could cause blizzard conditions from Thursday evening into Friday.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) expect multiple storm systems to converge along the East Coast, with eastern New York and Massachusetts getting the brunt of it. Winter weather has already affected areas around the country and it is expected to leave "arctic air" in its wake.
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"Aside from the snow and wind, the big issue will be the brutally cold air tomorrow and again early next week after a brief warm up this weekend," Chris Vaccaro, director of communications for the National Weather Service, told Mashable in an email.
Expected to bring "heavy snow with blustery winds," the NWS doppler image below shows the storm systems creeping up from the south and over from the west.

The storm has already caused some weather oddities. As the NWS noted, temperatures in Florida differed an incredible 115 degrees from temperatures in Minnesota on Thursday morning.
At 8 am EST, Jan 2nd, there was a 115˚ temp difference between #KeyWest, FL and International Falls, MN! #flwx #mnwx pic.twitter.com/9HifxVwSbz
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) January 2, 2014
The Weather Channel, which under its independent winter storm naming scheme is calling the storm "Hercules," has been tracking images of the storm as it moves across the Midwest.
Chicago metro I-355 #Hercules RT @TerryThomasson: Bad road conditions on Butterfield at 355 pic.twitter.com/p3CqyofO34
— TWC Breaking (@TWCBreaking) January 2, 2014
#Hercules RT @momof2irishkids: Cold and blowing snow in downtown Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/EpmjPMqFit
— TWC Breaking (@TWCBreaking) January 2, 2014
South Shore, MA coastal flooding #Hercules RT @DXFD_PIO: Gurnet road Duxbury flooding pic.twitter.com/z81o5NVvL6
— TWC Breaking (@TWCBreaking) January 2, 2014
South Shore, Mass. #Hercules RT @DXFD_PIO: Barriers for flooding concerns with the upcoming high tides #duxbury pic.twitter.com/eOSJOvTowf
— TWC Breaking (@TWCBreaking) January 2, 2014
Meanwhile, the storm has already caused more than 1,400 flight cancelations in cities from Chicago to New York, The Weather Channel's Shawn Reynolds reports.
As if the snow wasn't enough, the NWS predicts that "bitter cold will move into the Midwest and East following the storm." North Carolina-based meteorologist Brad Panovich is speculating what this could mean for Sunday's NFL playoff matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.
Coldest #NFL game ever played was -13° air temp at Lambeau Filed 12/31/1967. Sundays game will be very close. #icebowl2 #Packers #49ers
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) January 2, 2014
Check out our Twitter list of weather news sources for more up-to-the-minute coverage.
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Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images