Icy Winter Storm Octavia Spreads From the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic

Updated: February 17, 2015 3:56 AM [ET] | Originally published: February 16, 2015 9:04 AM EST;

The Northeast faced frigid temperatures in the single digits on Monday, as snow inundated large swaths of the South, knocking out power for almost a quarter of a million homes and forcing the cancellation of some 2,000 flights nationwide.

New Englanders shouldn’t hope for things to warm up anytime soon. Arctic air is expected to spread from the Midwest to the Northeast this week, chilling cities from Chicago to New York with single-digit temperatures.

The worst of the cold is predicted to affect the Midwest on Wednesday before drifting east into Thursday. Cities around both regions could see new record-low temperatures, AccuWeather.com reports. But even Florida will feel the bitter cold, with temperatures expected to fall into the 30s in Orlando.

Meanwhile, another winter storm barreled across the Plains and the Ozarks on Monday, dropping snow, sleet and ice on its way. Schools in Arkansas were closed due to sleet and traffic accidents in the icy conditions increased six-fold in Kentucky.

Several inches of snow had already accumulated in Washburn, Mo., Monday morning; further east, Nashville, Tenn. already had about a quarter of an inch of ice on the ground, according to the National Weather Service.

Power outages throughout the region have affected thousands of people, including 32,000 customers in Arkansas, according to NBC News. After the storm is done showering ice and snow on states from Oklahoma to Kentucky, it is predicted to head toward the mid-Atlantic—and maybe even New England.

If it gets as far north as Boston, that city—already pummeled by several winter storms—will come even closer to surpassing its all-time record for snowiest season. At 95.7 inches so far, Beantown has less than a foot to go to top the winter of ’95 to ’96.

[Weather]

Six Feet Under: Photos of Endless Winter in Boston

A pedestrian makes their way past a Victoria's Secret store along a snow covered street during a winter snowstorm in Boston — A pedestrian makes her way past a Victoria's Secret store along a snow covered street during a winter snowstorm in Boston on Feb. 9, 2015. Brian Snyder—Reuters

Fenway Park Buried By Heavy Snowfall — A piece of heavy equipment is used to clear snow from the warning track at Fenway Park in Boston on Feb. 9, 2015.Jessica Rinaldi—Boston Globe/Getty Images

Record snowfall period in Boston — A cross-country skier goes up a path near the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2015. Dominick Reuter—EPA

A cyclist rides across the Mass Ave bridge during a winter snow storm in Boston on Feb. 9, 2015. Brian Snyder—Reuters

Boston Hit With Third Snowstorm In Three Weeks — Workers clear snow around the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) South Station in Boston on Feb. 9, 2015.Kayana Szymczak—Getty Images

Ann Laborte shovels a path through the large mound of snow outside her Commonwealth Avenue home in Boston, Mass., Feb. 10, 2015.Nicolaus Czarnecki—Zumapress

Greg Burkett clears the snow from the front of his house during a winter snowstorm in Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2015. Brian Snyder—Reuters

Ben Carton snowboards off snow plowed into a pile in a parking lot during a winter snowstorm in Somerville, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2015.Brian Snyder—Reuters

Roofing Companies Busy Amid String Of Snow Storms — Jay Bullens Jr. of Able Roofing climbs with a sledgehammer to the third floor of a house to knock snow and ice from a roof on Beals Street in Brookline, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2015. Lane Turner—Boston Globe/Getty Images

Winter Storm Once Again Brings Region To A Crawl — A house is covered in snow and ice on Jane Road in Methuen, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2015. Jim Davis—Boston Globe/Getty Images

Northeast Shivers as Another Winter Storm Heads to Mid-Atlantic

Six Feet Under: Photos of Endless Winter in Boston

More Must-Reads from TIME