--- description: The Midwest and East Coast are bracing for subzero temperatures on Thursday and Friday, and some states may see up to a foot of snow title: Record-Breaking Cold Set to Hit Eastern U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3056b2465d18127/69877feacd684860b6099c58/niagara-falls-frozen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Record-Breaking Cold Set to Hit Eastern U.S.  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Feb 19, 2015 2:46 AM CUT  Visitors view frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Feb. 17, 2015. Visitors view frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Feb. 17, 2015.Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Feb 19, 2015 2:46 AM CUT Meteorologists are [predicting](http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd "undefined") parts of the eastern United States could experience historically low temperatures over the next few days thanks to a cold spell called the “Siberian Express.” The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center details that temperatures in the upper and middle Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley, all the way to the Carolinas and lower Great Lakes, will be 25 to 45 degrees below average. That could mean record-low February temperatures for Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia. The air responsible for the shift has been traveling in from Siberia, over the North Pole and down into North America over the past week. > [](https://twitter.com/TomNiziol/status/567713206328897536) According to the [Washington _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/02/18/february-cold-has-already-been-historic-and-thursday-and-friday-may-be-more-extreme/ "undefined"), the nation’s capital didn’t drop below 6 degrees last year. But this week, the region’s NWS office noted that Washington, D.C.’s temperature may fall below zero for the first time since Jan. 19, 1994. The center also expects more “heavy snow” for parts of New England, making for unwelcome news after successive storms dumped several feet of snow in the region over the last few weeks. ### Here's What Niagara Falls Looks Like Frozen  A partially frozen American Falls in sub freezing temperatures is seen in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  A snow-covered landscape is seen around the frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Feb.17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  A family walks through the snow near the frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y.,Feb. 17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  A rainbow appears over the partially frozen American Falls in sub freezing temperatures in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  A partially frozen American Falls in sub freezing temperatures is seen in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters  Visitors view frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Feb. 17, 2015. Lindsay DeDario—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3714498/united-states-weather-polar-vortex-cold/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3714498/united-states-weather-polar-vortex-cold/"},"headline":"Record-Breaking Cold Set to Hit Eastern U.S.","datePublished":"2015-02-19T02:46:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:33.269Z","description":"The Midwest and East Coast will suffer through subzero temperatures on Thursday and Friday","url":"https://time.com/3714498/united-states-weather-polar-vortex-cold/","keywords":["weather","polar vortex"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3056b2465d18127/69877feacd684860b6099c58/niagara-falls-frozen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3056b2465d18127/69877feacd684860b6099c58/niagara-falls-frozen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"frozen Niagara Falls","caption":"Visitors view frozen Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, New York, Feb. 17, 2015.","creditText":"Lindsay DeDario—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3714498/united-states-weather-polar-vortex-cold/","name":"Record-Breaking Cold Set to Hit Eastern U.S."}}]}] ```